Report: LeBron James, Dan Gilbert relationship strained over Cavs’ spending

LeBron James’s frustration with the Cleveland Cavaliers is reportedly growing.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, tensions between James and owner Dan Gilbert are rising over what James feels is a drop in payroll spending after Cleveland’s championship win.

One of James’s conditions for returning to Cleveland in 2014 was that Gilbert would spend freely on talent no matter the luxury tax costs, and despite the fact that no team has spent more on players in the last three years, James doesn’t feel that it’s enough.

James’s recent comments about the organization reportedly angered Gilbert, who saw it as an implication that further spending was simply down to an organizational choice.

The issue is exacerbated by the fact that the defending champions have lost six of their last eight games.

Both men likely have a point here. The Cavaliers are very top-heavy, and injuries, particularly to J.R. Smith, have left them thin. The problem is, with the team already far above the cap, adding a player such as this would be near impossible without giving up a lot of high-salaried talent in return. Cleveland is almost certainly trying to accomodate James’s valid wishes, but they only have so much flexibility to do so.