CLEVELAND, Ohio — During his second season in the league, LeBron James was starting to figure out his place. When things weren’t going well on the floor, he often would yell over to the coaching staff that certain things needed to be fixed.
By his fourth season, James was routinely offering suggestions on in-game strategies and adjustments within huddles and the locker room.
Now in his seventh season, it is commonplace for James to have ongoing discussions with coach Mike Brown about who should be in the game, which defense the team should be in and where other players on the court should and shouldn’t be.
Brown has fostered this, even if he’s routinely mocked for it, because his philosophy is to get the superstar to buy in and invest himself in the decisions. Just as a corporation, by often making James a partner in the process, may have a player more dedicated to the success of theentire product.
“I see things that I think may work throughout the course of a game and I’ve been able to make moves on the fly and it helps our team,” James said. “I think it is growth that comes with experience and with leadership.”
This season James has been involved in the coaching process more than ever. Whether it is consulting with Brown over lineup changes, voicing matchup preferences in the huddle or simply giving his opinion on substitutions, James could be considered the Cavs’ fifth assistant coach.
“The feel he has for the game is tremendous,” Brown said. “His basketball IQ is off the charts and he’s keenly aware of the scouting reports and what you are trying to do and what other teams are trying to do.”
All of this begs the question as to whether coaching may be in James’ future.
Superstars have not made the transition to coaching often in NBA history. Jerry West and Larry Bird were successful, but seemed to quickly tire of the job. Elgin Baylor did poorly. Magic Johnson lasted 15 games. Isiah Thomas is still working on it but the results have been spotty at best. Patrick Ewing, currently an assistant coach with the Magic, wants a head coaching job.
Bill Russell won two championships as a player-coach for the Celtics, but coached losing teams in three of the five years he was on the bench only as a coach.
James, a student of the game’s history, knows this and can feel it. Being a player-coach is currently not allowed and, without that option, James said he doesn’t think he could ever be a head coach.
“I wouldn’t want to be a head coach in the NBA, I’ll tell you that,” James said. “Way too much pressure as a head coach. I like head coaches, but [it's] not for me.”
This from a someone who likes to say he personally doesn’t believe in pressure.
“As a coach, you have to deal with 15 different personalities,” James said. “You have to police them but at the same time understand they are grown men and at the end of the day they are going to do what they want to do. If something goes wrong, the blame automatically goes to the coach. That’s a tough job.”
The blame also automatically goes on the Most Valuable Player. But James, who seems to have given this idea some thought, said that is different.
“I’m OK with that situation as a player, but as a coach I don’t know if I’m OK with that,” he said. “I can control what I do as a player. I can’t control one of my players if he misses four or five layups.”
James did say that he’d perhaps consider being an assistant coach with little responsibility or a general manager. This is an adjustment from just a couple of years ago when James said when he retired he’d be walking away from the game for good. Perhaps his perspective will continue to change as he gets older.
“I can mix and match. I know talent, I do know that. GM is a lot of pressure, too,” James said. “I’d like to be like [Mavericks owner] Mark Cuban and just sit back at the games.”
If nothing else, James seems to have developed some respect for what coaches have to go through. That includes Brown, whom James praised for his work on the sideline so far this season.
“There’s a little pressure on Mike but at the same time he’s doing a great job,” James said. “When you have a really talented team, everyone expects you to turn it into a championship and that is the sport we live in and the responsibly coaches take.”
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION
Ownership updates: The NBA is planning to fast track Michael Jordan’s purchase of the Charlotte Bobcats, which reports have indicated he is largely making with his own money after a failed attempt to recruit investors. Also within days, the league is expected to approve Russianbillionaire’s Mikhail Prokhorov purchase of the New Jersey Nets.
Both men bought their teams at reduced value. There have been conflicting reports on the prices but it is clear that both Nets owner Bruce Ratner and Bobcats owner Bob Johnson, both of whom paid roughly $300 million for their teams in 2003, took heavy losses on the sales.
As for the Cavs, league sources indicate Hong Kong businessman Albert Hung’s purchase of 15 percent of the team from David Katzman is still stuck in red tape. While sources says there are no major issues holding it up, this has been a year-long process. One insider said that Katzman has been getting impatient waiting for all of his money.
There have been reports in Detroit that Katzman is interested in assembling a group to buy the Detroit Pistons, who are for sale.
The Manu problem: This is a well-known a huge summer for free agency. But not has much attention goes to the full scope of the class because so much is focused on the LeBron James/Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh issues. There are other players who have to make big career decisions, as do their teams.
For example, do the Dallas Mavericks give Dirk Nowitzki a full max extension as he’s about to turn 32? Same for the Boston Celtics with Paul Pierce, a potential free agent at 32, who is showing some wear this season.
Another team firmly in that position is the San Antonio Spurs with Manu Ginobili. He’s having a good second half of the season, but will turn 33 in July and has battled serious ankle issues for the last few years.
How much can he command and how much are the Spurs will to pay?
It may be a quite a bit, his agent explains, because there’s so many teams with cap space and so few premium free agents out there. Right now the Spurs aren’t willing to talk about a contract.
“You’ve got all these teams with all this money, and only one can sign LeBron,” Herb Rudoy, who also represents Zydrunas Ilgauskas, told the San Antonio Express-News. “We all know Manu is a player who makes a difference.
“I have no problem, and Manu doesn’t either, to go to free agency and see what’s out there. His heart is really in San Antonio, but the onus is not on me, it’s on the other side of the table to want to discuss this. I’d be surprised if they let him go to free agency, but it’s their decision.”
