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LeBron: 'I don't think anyone was prepared for me returning' to CLE
LeBron James returning to Cleveland as a free agent in 2014 wasn’t a total shocker – Miami looked outclassed in its Finals defeat that year, and James friend and teammate Dwyane Wade somehow looked older then than he does in 2016 – but it was a bit of a surprise.
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Still, even moves that don’t fit in the drag-down menu under “Surprise” necessitate some sort of acclimation. Some response, in advance of reflex. It wasn’t just that James would be joining one of the worst NBA teams of the last four seasons (97-215, 31 percent, a mark befitting a 26-win club), and the oddity behind James re-joining the franchise he cruelly dismissed in 2010 gets thrown away once the ball is thrown in the air at opening tip.
No, as it’s always been, the biggest adjustments had to come from players both good-to-great, and all points below. James, not in excuse-making mode with his Cavs down 2-1 in these NBA Finals, reminded us of as much on Thursday:
"I don't think anyone was prepared for me returning and understanding what the situation was going to entail," said James. "I mean, that's everyone here. You know, they had gone through some losing seasons in my previous stint before I came back, so they knew they were getting a pretty good basketball player and a great leader and a good person, and someone that was going to command excellence. But I don't know if they understood the day-to-day process of being in this situation was going to entail.
"So it's been a learning experience for everyone that's been a part of it to this point, and including myself. I've actually learned some things as well about the guys and about how to be patient with younger guys and things of that nature.”
James went on to credit Kyrie Irving for acting as a “floor leader” alongside under sincere if not exciting pabulum.
None of the qualifiers take away from the stark turn that Cleveland was both blessed and charged with taking advantage of in 2014. Not since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar forced a trade to a 30-win Los Angeles Lakers team in 1975 – mainly because, “hey, it’s Los Angeles and also this is 1975” – has a player rocked the boat so dramatically.
In the winter and spring of 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers sent a potential first round draft pick to Chicago for Luol Deng, who was set to become a free agent a few months later. Free agency is where the team took a chance on Andrew Bynum, he of the terrible knees and limited compassion, the offseason before. The squad was then-helmed by Mike Brown, for whatever reason, and then-run by a general manager in Chris Grant who spent a No. 1 overall pick on Anthony Bennett (currently out of the NBA) and an owner that swore that Byron Scott and Jamario Moon would be enough to replace LeBron James on his way to a first NBA championship.
Cleveland is still waiting for its championship, having finally constructed its superteam around the same time that Golden State constructed theirs via criticized (by some, not all) draft picks (Stephen Curry), possible overspending (David Lee), turning down All-Stars for non-All-Stars (declining to deal Klay Thompson for Kevin Love), coaching hire miscues (Mark Jackson), controversial coaching firings/hirings (firing a successful Jackson and employing a rookie in Steve Kerr), and roundly-booed trade deadline deals (Monta Ellis for an injured Andrew Bogut).
This isn’t another tired “Golden State did it the Right Way”-bit. We’re just here to remind you how strange and wonderful this league can be, and how nobody will ever have a fully-approved clue as to how to sell things.
This isn’t to preemptively excuse LeBron if the Finals again play according to script: Cavs win on Friday in Game 4, Golden State blows the visitors out in Game 5, and the Warriors take the title with a “competitive, but not really”-comfortable Game 6 win on the road. Nor is it an attempt to get in ahead of a LeBron James triumph, should he and the strangers around him take the next three games and topple the 73-win Warriors to bring a title to the Cleve’.
Despite the big names and talent, this was a strange setup.
The Cavaliers were miserably run from 2010 through 2014, and statistically lucky to earn three No. 1 overall draft picks in four seasons. Kyrie Irving, LeBron’s presumptive Next Dwyane Wade, played just 66 NCAA/NBA games during his first two seasons out of high school due to injury woes. Kevin Love’s best teammate prior to 2014 was Al Jefferson, in Al’s return from an ACL tear. Tristan Thompson was best known for switching his free throw shooting hand. Matthew Dellavedova was just the guy from ‘The Mindy Project.’ Tyronn Lue hadn’t even been born yet.
There’s no set way to create a champion. All we can do is hope for an entertaining route on our way towards the confetti. And, barring all the blowouts, both Cleveland and Golden State have given us that thus far. Because “off the court” is entertaining, too.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops
