From the “things I can say with impunity because it will never, ever happen” file we bring you....
LeBron James came back to Cleveland to win and bring a title to Ohio (and play with a better team, and have more power in the organization, but that’s not the narrative we’re spinning here). And they are finally winning after LeBron took some time off and the Cavaliers traded for a solid rim protector, they have rattled off 11 victories in a row.
LeBron would do just about anything to keep that going, include coming off the bench. From my man Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.“For me being the leader of the team, it doesn’t matter. Whatever this team needs in order for this team to win, I’ll come off the bench and I’m serious,” James said. “I’ll come off the bench. If it helps our team, that’s what it’s about, man.”
“No. No. He’s doing fine where he is,” Blatt said. “He’s doing quite fine.”
Two quick thoughts.
I believe LeBron. He is fully in legacy mode right now — he already is a lock Hall of Famer who will go down as the most gifted and one of the great players the game has ever seen. The only questions left is where he will stand on the all-time ladder when it is all over (and you cannot answer that question right now, despite how hard some people want to try). If LeBron thought he could get more rings as a sixth man, he’d honestly do it without complaint.
Second, his statement is moot. It’s like Pete Carroll saying he’s going to be the next president of the United States — he can say it all he wants, it will not become a reality. (After the end of the Super Bowl you want to trust him with decisions on ISIS?)
Lovely sentiment by LeBron, however. We’ll see how he feels about it near the end of his career, not at its peak.