LeBron James unloaded on the hypocrisy of NBA trades via an Instagram post on Wednesday.
James posted a video of Harrison Barnes, who was traded by the Dallas Mavericks mid-game. The Mavs made the move to free up some future salary cap space and did so even though Barnes was literally in the middle of playing for them.
James thinks it’s hypocritical for fans to have no problem with teams making moves like this to do what’s best for them while players get negative publicity for demanding a trade to improve their situation.
“So let me guess this is cool cause they had to do what was best for the franchise right??? Traded this man while he was literally playing in the game and had ZERO idea. I’m not knocking who traded him because it’s a business and you have to do what you feel what’s best but I just want this narrative to start to get REAL/CHANGE and not when a player wants to be traded or leaves a Franchise that he’s a selfish/ungrateful player but when they trade you, release , waive, cut etc etc it’s best for them! I’m ok with both honestly, truly am. Just call a (spade) a (spade)!!” he wrote.
James’ post was pretty clearly about Anthony Davis’ situation. Davis last week demanded a trade, but the New Orleans Pelicans reportedly are refusing to play ball and not comply.
The post was liked by Anthony Davis, among others.
The one thing LeBron is missing is that this is a fan-driven league. Fans spending money on tickets and watching games is what drives up player salaries and popularity. Fans are often fans of teams first rather than individuals. They want their team to be competitive and have a chance to win, and when superstars team up to build superteams, it undermines the health of the league overall. That’s what he’s missing, and that’s why most fans will side with their teams ahead of individual players.
