The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a rut and LeBron James is upset. There is nothing strange about that. LeBron is not accustomed to losing, and has not had to be accustomed to losing in 12 years. On the heels of his sixth straight appearance in the NBA Finals and his glorious performance to help Cleveland win its first pro sports championship in a half-century, LeBron isn’t terribly patient.
LeBron James is just holding Dan Gilbert to his promise
The Cavaliers’ owner promised to spend whatever it takes. LeBron is making sure he delivers.
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
And why should he be? He’s the best player of his generation, one of the greatest ever, and he chose to return to Cleveland as a free agent in 2014. That affords a certain level of impatience. You bow to the king if you want to remain in his good graces.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on Thursday that LeBron, who has recently groused publicly about the Cavaliers’ lack of supplemental playmakers behind himself and Kyrie Irving, is at loggerheads with team management over payroll. Franchise owner Dan Gilbert and the front office, Windhorst says, are unwilling to add salary to their huge payroll, which is already tops in the NBA. LeBron is reportedly frustrated at this development after apparently receiving assurance from Gilbert back in 2014 that there would not be financial limits placed on the roster.
It’s true that the Cavaliers have paid more in salary and luxury tax than any other franchise since LeBron returned to Ohio. But that is not the same as paying unconditionally to improve the roster. If Cleveland, which has an open roster spot and several substantial trade exceptions, is declining to add talent due to the extravagant luxury tax penalties ($3.25 per dollar spent), that is a complete violation of Gilbert’s apparent promise to spend unconditionally.
Cavaliers general manager David Griffin — who is very good at his job — had some interesting comments this week. We should note that LeBron has urged action in each of the past two winters, and Griffin has pulled something out of his hat (Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert in 2015, Channing Frye in 2016). But LeBron has been louder this time around and Griffin has been forced to respond. From Windhorst’s piece:
“Organizationally, there is absolutely no lack of clarity on what our goal set is. We are here to win championships. ... Anyone insinuating that this organization is about anything other than that would deeply upset me because ownership has invested in this at an absolutely historic level.”
That’s nice. But that wasn’t the bargain. LeBron didn’t ask Gilbert to spend at “an absolutely historic level.” He asked him to spend to improve the team no matter the financial penalty. Is Cleveland doing that? Based on Griffin’s response, the answer is no. Hence LeBron’s lament.
We can quibble over LeBron’s original demand for Gilbert to spend whatever it takes. Is it fair of a player to make such a demand? Maybe it’s not. It’s certainly not normal. But complaining about LeBron’s presumption is useless.
LeBron can make a demand like that because in a league with capped individual salaries he has the ultimate power. If you don’t play by his rules, he can — and will — leave. Ask Miami. LeBron comes with strings attached. Ignore his rules at your own peril.
The real question is why anyone would defend Gilbert here. He has a net worth of $5 billion. LeBron has been responsible for tens of millions of dollars in revenue for Gilbert over the past 12 years, even with the four-year exile in Miami. Every dollar that goes toward improving the Cavaliers roster comes out of Gilbert’s pocket, essentially.
The Cavs are already hard-capped, so extra payroll isn’t otherwise derailing a long-term blueprint for the team, or limiting the team’s flexibility this summer in a real way. This is truly a simple financial trade-off: do the Cavaliers spend Dan Gilbert’s money to improve the team, or does Dan Gilbert pocket that money and let the cards fall where they may?
In 2014, Gilbert apparently promised LeBron he would choose improving the team over his own profits. Live up to that promise, or risk returning to the basketball dark ages when LeBron’s contract is up. It’s simple, really.
