First, LeBron was complimentary of the team going out and getting Harden.
“They felt like they needed another playmaker, someone that’s been there, kind of been in this situation before, and they added James, perennial All-Star who’s still putting up All-Star numbers,” James said. “He gives Donovan Mitchell another, like, ball handler guy who can make shots late in the game.”
LeBron seems like he has a lot of respect for Harden. Back in June 2024, Rich Paul said that his client would accept a paycut from the Lakers if it meant he could play with an established playmaker or big man. Harden was one of the players Paul listed.
Making the move to acquire Schroder and Ellis also received the king’s blessing.
”Those pickups that they got from Sac as well,” James said. “Schroder, a former teammate of mine, you know that’s going to compete every single night, and Keon Ellis, the guy’s going to compete, make shots. Like, those guys are going to be, I think, really, really good for that team, especially in the East, where it’s a lot of bulk.”
LeBron — like seemingly every man over 35 years-old in America — has a podcast. He talks about the NBA, and Cleveland’s moves at the deadline have been mostly praised. From that perspective, his doing so isn’t newsworthy.
At the same time, LeBron has been in this business for a long time. He knows that his words have meaning, and he sees all the noise about him returning to Cleveland. If he wanted to quiet that down, he’d avoid talking about his former team — especially on his podcast, where he presumably controls what gets released.
We’ll see what happens this summer. In the meantime, James believes the Cavs are better prepared for the playoffs now.
“You’ve got to have some dogs in there, so I think they added a lot.”