Miami Heat President Pat Riley Chimes In On Cleveland Cavaliers Star LeBron James Wanting Erik Spoelstra Fired
Miami Heat president Pat Riley has decided to chime in on the reports that LeBron James left the team via free agency because he was not happy with head coach Erik Spoelstra and wanted him removed from his position, according to ESPN.
Pat Riley stated that if that was the case, then LeBron James, who is back with the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second stint, never made that known to him or requested the move, which goes against the now refuted claim made by Raanan Katz, a minority owner who has less than a ten percent stake in the Miami Heat, to the media in Israel.
Despite being disappointed by the departure of his best player, Pat Riley is attempting to exonerate LeBron James, whose reputation has taken quite a hit this season because of rumors that he was heavily involved in the sudden and surprising dismissal of Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt last week.
The belief is that LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul, who recently pulled off quite the coup by signing Washington Wizards guard John Wall as a client, were pushing heavily behind the scene for associate head coach Tyronn Lue, a former guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, to be promoted to the top spot.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are also struggling to figure out how to utilize Kevin Love, the 6’10” forward who needs to learn how to channel the transformation and sacrifice of Chris Bosh if they want to be able to win the Eastern Conference Championship and get a rematch with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals in April.
Things have gotten so bad for LeBron James that sports analysts have already started openly discussing the possibility of the Cleveland Cavaliers trading their franchise player, something that most people would not fathom prior to all of the negative things that have happened to the Akron native this season.
Of course, a trade of LeBron James, who has been working out harder so that he can have more stamina to run the up-tempo offense that Tyronn Lue had installed upon taking over the reins, is highly unlikely to happen, even though most NBA teams would gladly give up the farm because the 6’8? forward would instantly make them a favorite to win the championship.
The trade that might happen before the NBA trade deadline in February could see the departure of Kevin Love, who has had trouble adjusting from being the franchise player for the Minnesota Timberwolves to being a spot up shooter alongside Kyrie Irving and LeBron James for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Another possible trade would see Kyrie Irving being exchanged for Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, a superb player that many believe would be better able to help LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers win the coveted NBA Championship that has eluded the franchise since their inception.
Regardless of what the Cleveland Cavaliers decide to do with their personnel next month, none of it matters if LeBron James allows the accusations to get the better of him and distract him from winning his third NBA Championship.
[Featured Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images]
