LISTEN: NBA Writer Criticizes LeBron James The Personnel Director
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- If the NBA Finals prove to be a quick series, are LeBron James' days as a de facto general manager over?
On his show Wednesday, WFAN's Mike Francesa asked Ira Winderman, who covers the Miami Heat for the Sun-Sentinel, whether King James might back off of picking his own Cleveland Cavaliers teammates in the future, although James claims he doesn't do that.
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"I think it's almost a passive aggressive approach," Winderman said. "When people talk to him about personnel, he says, 'That's up to the front office. I just play basketball.' We all know better. Does he demand players? No. Does he leave enough subtle hints and breadcrumbs that they know who he wants to get? Absolutely."
"The one thing ... I keep looking at this series and looking at long-term basketball and saying, 'Could you imagine if he had a young, dynamic talent like Andrew Wiggins at his side to grow with over the next three years vs. the player who used to be Kevin Love."
Of course, upon James' return to Cleveland in 2014, he appeared to have pushed for the Cavaliers to trade Wiggins, the top overall pick in the 2014 draft, to Minnesota in exchange for Love, who has fallen short of expectations in Cleveland.
Winderman said James is likely already thinking toward the future.
"That's the thing, that he walks into this locker room every day with Kyrie Irving. He walks into this locker room with Kevin Love. But people who know LeBron know he's always thinking three steps ahead," Winderman said. "'What's going to be next? How am I going to be better? Would the Clippers give up on an older Chris Paul? Could I get my buddy Carmelo here to give up his no-trade (clause) and actually live in Cleveland, Ohio? Can I pull this off?' You can bet LeBron's people are already thinking about that.
"And from Cleveland's perspective, this is the worst possible way to showcase Kevin Love (for a trade), where I think there's only going to be more doubts after this series."
To listen to the full interview, click on the audio player above.