CLEVELAND — At the final buzzer Thursday night, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett were seen whispering in each other’s ears. Garnett may have told James: “Get out now!”
That’s what Garnett believes James should do.
“Loyalty is something that hurts you at times because you can’t get youth back,” Garnett said regarding James’ big decision following Boston’s stunning ouster of the Cavaliers. Garnett added if he had to do it all over again with Minnesota, “I’d have done it a little sooner.”
All signs are pointing toward a Cleveland exit for James — with the Knicks gaining confidence at having a legitimate shot at landing “The Chosen One” on July 1 when free-agency begins.
The city of Cleveland, meanwhile, was in a state of shock yesterday and the organization is in clear disarray after the Cavaliers’ stunning ouster and the very realization their hero probably is on the way out. The Knicks, Bulls, Miami and the Nets will be in competition for James’ services, or another team could arise in a sign-and-trade.
James was a no-show at the Cavaliers’ practice facility yesterday. His formal exit interview with president Danny Ferry has been postponed. And there already was an erroneous report Mike Brown was fired.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert denied the report, but Brown did not speak to the media, a telling sign. Gilbert said something could come down in “seven to 10 days” as they “evaluate” the situation. Rumblings are James and Brown had a run-in earlier in the series.
More signs. Sonny Vaccaro, the sneaker-king whose friends with James’ entourage, expects James to leave — for Chicago. The entourage seems to be split between New York, Chicago and Cleveland, and an aide of President Obama said the noted Bulls fan is hoping James comes to the Windy City.
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday on his radio show said he hopes James becomes a Knick and is willing to talk with him to explain the merits of living in New York.
Dan Gilbert wasn’t thrilled at the speculation and took a poke at Bloomberg.
During a press conference at the Cavaliers practice facility, the gregarious Gilbert said New York’s mayor should have better things to worry about.
“I would think Mayor Bloomberg would have better things to do than that, and have more challenges,” Gilbert said. “I think that we have to ignore the noise and that’s what we do. People in New York read that stuff more than people in Cleveland do. We are focused on building the best franchise, the best environment, the best place for the long-term situation for LeBron or any free agents who want to come here.”
Gilbert would not guarantee James’ return — as he did two weeks ago during James’ MVP ceremony in Akron.
James said Thursday night after the ouster his “team” — not the Cavs — would explore all his options in July. At one point, James talked of Cleveland in the past tense.
James has yet to set a date to meet with Ferry, and he’s not expected to address the media any time soon. A person close to James said he’s preparing to rest, relax and get away for a bit. He’s now got 46 days to figure on his next destination.
“I didn’t know it was a sweepstakes,” Gilbert said. “Is there a drawing?
This is the best franchise for him to play at. Hopefully most players would look at us as one of the top franchises play at.”
Gilbert seemed to be bracing Cleveland for the inevitable — a James-free future.
“As great as LeBron James is, one of the greatest players to play the game, we don’t sit around saying how can we make him happy?” Gilbert said. “It isn’t looked at in that [way]. No man, no one person or even two players that can win a playoff series. It really has got to be a team effort. Everyone is accountable.”
Ferry said if it was the regular season, James would have been shut down for two weeks to rest his ailing right elbow.
“I’m still kind of coming down from [Thursday] night to talk about LeBron’ss situation clearly,” Ferry said. “He’s important to this part of the world. Our fans really enjoy and have taken a lot from his career being here. We know it’s important to the people here.”
Ferry’s contract is also up. The Cavs could be in a dilemma hiring a new coach. In order for James to stay, he likely will pick the next coach and he may not know until July if he wants to stay. John Calipari, a James’ buddy rumored to in line for the Cavs or Bulls job, tweeted he will coach Kentucky next season.
“We are going to take a long, hard look at every position in this franchise from top to bottom,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert apologized again to the Cavs’ fans.
“The kids waking up in Cleveland this morning and having them be disappointed, I’m sorry for them,” Gilbert said. “I apologize to them.”
In a poll of fans at the Tower City mall, there was a divide on whether he will re-sign. Jenny Popis, a public relations official for the Cleveland Sports Commission, said he’s gone.
“I think he’s ready for something new, maybe a new coach, new team,” Popis said. “He’s just ready to go and his heart is elsewhere. I don’t know, it’s NYC, though. I think he’ll entertain it.”
But A.Z. Patterson, who claims to be a friend of James’ high school coach Dru Joyce, said, “He’s not going to New York. He’s going to stay in Cleveland. If he goes anywhere, it’d be where he can compete for a championship sooner.”