The Unspoken Wrath of the King

By: D.K. Wilson

All eyes were on Isiah Thomas, the ornery crowd attending the game, and the “Dump Isiah” protesters outside Madison Square Garden. After the tipoff all eyes shifted to the New York Knicks’ performance (a 108-90 win). In the midst of the circus that is now the Knicks, a more important event took place. It was one that few noticed, and when they did it was mentioned in passing - and it did not involve anyone with anything to do with New York.

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One antagonistic shoulder bump, player to coach, would ruin most NBA players - even stars. It is a show of unmitigated disrespect for the man charged with directing the team. When a non-verbal confrontation like this takes place during the 48 minutes of business in front of 19,000 spectators, the entire team understands its message loud and clear - far louder and clearer than a shouting match, than a stream of expletives and a scowl.

A bump of this sort is the type that tells a general manager that it is time to begin texting other team’s GMs; time to put out the word: if we were to let this guy go, in a perfect world, what would you give for him? At the same time the GM is and will continue to watch the coach and the other 14 players that much closer; perhaps it is the coach who must move on.

A bump of this sort, with 8:49 left in the game and the team down 21, can go a long way to explaining a team’s 2-9 record in its last 11 games.

If the player in question was any other - not named LeBron James - Cleveland Cavalier general manager Danny Ferry would already be weighing his options. But this is LeBron James, so there will be no text to another GM from Ferry reading, ‘See you when we get to Charlotte’ - or Atlanta, or whatever destination the Cavs will travel to where the possibility of a trade might exist. This is Mike Brown, a head coach Ferry respects and likes. He is a man who is from the school of Gregg Popovich, and on good nights Cleveland reflects the essence of San Antonio: suffocating defense, rebounding, opportunistic scoring - and winning.

LeBron James is King James. He is not a prince, a man with charm and aplomb with the prince’s gift of a youthful face. James is the master of all he surveys. His face is already worn, his charms are crafted from necessity rather than being the product of something natural. He came into the NBA anointed and plundered all he saw.

There is and never will be a dunk contest for King James, no three-point contest just to show he can. There will never be a contract squabble; he was a “max player” the moment he stepped onto NBA hardwood. Unlike any other athlete, LeBron James walks through a scripted world - scripted by endorsers, scripted by David Stern, scripted by Warren Buffet, scripted by his agent-manager friends; how to become a billionaire on an NBA salary.

However, with all this gifting from every corner of the material universe comes the want for results. LeBron took the Jamesettes to the NBA Finals last season - but suddenly the “Ettes” wanted theirs. They wanted their contracts to match the accolades given to them. By the time two of the role players - Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic - received more money, Cleveland was already behind the eight ball. It was noticed that without Varejao’s hustle, defense, and glass work, and without Pavlovic’s three-point shooting and all-around play, not even James could carry the Cavs.

When everything looked to be back in place, the King decided to rest for a week with a hurt finger on his non-shooting hand. That’s right, his non-shooting hand. How’s that for a, “How you like me now” move? So while the King took some R&R, his team - yes, his team - floundered.

But now they are suffering through an inexplicable rough patch with a nearly full lineup, and James has resorted to more childish behavior, bumping his coach while walking to the bench. At some point this behavior must be addressed, right?

There was no mention of the incident in the Cleveland Plain Dealer or the Akron Beacon-Journal. In the Associated Press game article written by Brian Mahoney, Brown is blamed for walking into James, when it was clear that James, as he approached Brown, took a step to the right and two steps later bumped his coach. The coach was so astonished that he failed to react for a second before turning quickly and shooting a look back in James’ direction.

This incident would have been fully addressed in the postgame press conference if it were any other player. Any other coach would have talked with James about the incident after the game.

Any GM would have taken notice, and the texting would have begun. A meeting about the team, the player, and the coach with the owner - Dan “Quicken” Gilbert - would be next. Unnamed sources would begin talking, rumors would fly. The principal parties would be forced to face the press and the public and explain themselves. And soon enough, a change would be made.

But not with LeBron “the King” James. Mum’s the word. The script must be followed, and the course of the future cannot be altered. One antagonistic bump will not stop, or even slow, the inevitable.

The King must succeed, long live the King.

D.K. Wilson is a freelance sports writer. He is better known on the internet as "DWil," and writes for Sports On My Mind.

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