LeBron James didn't cause me to be miserable in Cleveland, says David Griffin
Tuesday 6 August 2019 10:51, UK
New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin has clarified comments he made regarding his tenure with LeBron James at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Griffin was general manager of the Cavaliers during James' return to his hometown team which yielded the 2016 NBA title amid four successive trips to the NBA Finals.
Quoted in a piece published by Sports Illustrated, Griffin said: "Everything we did was so inorganic and unsustainable and, frankly, not fun… I was miserable."
James subsequently took to Twitter and posted: "Enough is enough. The throne has been played with too much and I ain't for horseplay. Ether coming soon."
The 45-year-old Griffin, now working as executive vice president of the New Orleans Pelicans, appeared on NBA TV's 'The Jump' and clarified his comments.
"The whole backdrop of that conversation was about the noise around that Cavaliers team and the media portrayal of all of it," he said. "The fact that there was so much scrutiny on everything we did. When I was speaking about being uncomfortable and being miserable it was my inability to deal with that media scrutiny."
"It wasn't the man himself, it was everything that came with a team led by LeBron James. It had nothing to do with being miserable with LeBron. We have a very positive relationship.
"The other thing that bothered me the most was that the story was designed to be about the Pelicans and how our past and everything we had learned through our failings, we were going to apply to building [a better franchise].
"I was disappointed the story became about me and those quotes. None of that information was new information. I've said [these things] many times in media over the last two years."
NBA TV analyst Sekou Smith agreed there was nothing "out of line" with Griffin's initial comments but added they could end up as fuel for James as he prepares for the 2019-20 season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
"When you build something overnight the way they did LeBron returned to Cleveland, it's all or nothing every season without an opportunity to build organically in the way he has the chance to in New Orleans. It is tough," he said.
"'Griff' talked about the challenges of being on that 'high wire', of trying to win every night and it's all LeBron when it's good and it's everybody else when it is bad. I don't think there was anything out of line with what Griffin said but if LeBron needed any more motivation in a summer full of it, this will probably serve that purpose."
