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Yesterday afternoon Sports Illustrated released a profile of Pelicans GM David Griffin where Griffin appeared to take several shots at LeBron James.
David Griffin…did not enjoy his time with the Cavs đ https://t.co/1YSu0NBZFR pic.twitter.com/iRmNw6mABg
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) August 1, 2019
David Griffin said he wonders if LeBron is more preoccupied with other priorities than winning. pic.twitter.com/inTlsNftJa
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 1, 2019
Griffin reportedly reached out to James after the interview and spoke to someone in LeBron’s camp to explain that some of the quotes were “taken out of context”. The person in James camp then “encouraged” Griffin to come out in public to clarify his comments.
Via ESPN
Sources close to James told ESPN on Thursday they were âshockedâ at Griffinâs characterization of the superstar. James seemingly addressed the Griffin story via a tweet on Thursday without mentioning him by name.
Griffin and a person close to James spoke after the SI story was published, sources told ESPN, and Griffin expressed that some context was missing behind his comments. Jamesâ camp encouraged Griffin to clear up his stance on the record, sources said.
This afternoon Griffin spoke to ESPN accused Sports Illustrated of sensationalizing his quotes about LeBron.
David Griffin came on The Jump today to discuss his comments about LeBron James in a recent SI story. Here he explains what caused him to say LeBron was a âdifferent animalâ when it came to winning following the â16 chip pic.twitter.com/pJdsDQP94C
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) August 2, 2019
Via ESPN
Griffin also addressed his comment that James wasn’t “the same animal anymore” after winning a championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. Griffin said Friday that he had failed to instill a sense of urgency in the team following the championship and that his fear over James’ declining desire to win proved “unfounded.”
“My belief at that time was there is no way anyone can be born in Akron, Ohio, deliver the first championship in 52 years to Cleveland, Ohio, and be the same human being,” Griffin said. “It’s not possible — you’re a person, you’re a human being — and my fear at that time was that [James] wouldn’t have that same animal-like desire to win. And what we’ve seen is he’s gone to multiple Finals since, so it was an unfounded fear.”
Griffin said Friday that the SI story was supposed to be about the Pelicans and the lessons he learned while being in charge of the Cavaliers, saying his quotes about his experience with James in Cleveland in the story were “sensationalized” and “taken out of context.”