LeBron James and Jim Boeheim are suddenly in a bit of a war of words.
The subject is Darius Bazley, a one-time Syracuse recruit who opted against attending college to play in the G League. Bazley then backed out of that plan too after receiving an offer from agent Rich Paul, who also represents James. That arrangement will see Bazley serve as an intern at New Balance, where he has a shoe deal worth a minimum of $1 million, before entering the NBA next season.
Boeheim is pretty clearly a little irked about this whole thing, and the Syracuse coach made that clear on Wednesday.
Jim Boeheim on former Syracuse signee Darius Bazley getting guaranteed $1 million deal with New Balance:
“LeBron did a nice job helping his client. It is LeBron’s client, right?”
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) October 24, 2018
James responded not long after by more or less laughing off Boeheim’s comments.
OH THEY BIG MAD!!!!! https://t.co/DP2bGAeWq8
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 24, 2018
This is definitely a new thing for college sports, and other coaches have voiced their concerns, too. Part of that is probably down to the fact that more talented recruits will skip college if they see a less risky route to making money immediately without jeopardizing their NBA hopes, which college coaches won’t want. Boeheim is clearly a little bitter over all this, and isn’t afraid to hide it.
