Who The Hell Does LeBron Think He Is?

[Pro Basketball Talk] – That transition is the partial subject of a new book by Ian Thomsen, who appeared on a recent edition of Zach Lowe podcast to discuss some of the subjects at hand. Titled “The Soul of Basketball: The Epic Showdown Between LeBron, Kobe, Doc, and Dirk That Saved the NBA” Thomsen’s book has been getting excellent reviews, and based on his conversation with Lowe it certainly seems worthwhile.

Here’s a quote from Lowe’s podcast, where Lowe is quoting a passage of Thomsen’s book that is spoken by Riley:

[I] asked how things were progressing. They just said, “We’re not feeling it, or something like that.” We talked about the typical things we have to do, have patience, all that stuff.

And I remember LeBron looking at me and he said, “Don’t you ever get the itch?”

And I said, “The itch for what?”

He said, “The itch to coach again.”

I said, “No I don’t have the itch.”

Who the hell does LeBron think he is? I’m not one to hide from the fact I love LeBron the player. He’ll go down as one of the more underrated players simply because of how many people hate on him. That’s part of the Internet-era and there are minimal greats that have dealt with that like LeBron has. But, this? I’m appalled. That’s the only way to put it. He’s showing Michael Jordan-esque front office decisions with this.

Erik Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the NBA. I’ll fight anyone – correction, I’ll argue with anyone, because I’m not going to fight – who thinks otherwise. What he did with that Heat team is a bit underrated. Yes, it’s easy to say he had the talent, but you still have to get chemistry down. He did that. He found a way to win. He found a way to keep everyone happy there. He’s still one of the better offensive coaches in the league dating back to that era.

I’ve never been so hurt on a Sunday morning and I’m someone who saw my college football team lose to the same team 31 years in a row. I know hurt. This one hurts. Now, why did LeBron want Spo replaced? Well, the fact that the Heat were 9-8 in 2010 probably is the first step. It also doesn’t hurt that Pat Riley is a Hall of Famer and just sitting right there in the building to replace him.