Griffin's 'Miserable' Comment Shocks LeBron's Camp, 3-Time Champ Responds

LeBron James and his camp were under the impression that his relationship with former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin was cordial but that perception was shattered during a recent interview when the latter revealed that he was “miserable” during his final years with the Cavaliers. The three-time NBA champion’s camp is said to be shocked after hearing the comments made by Griffin about James.

Griffin told Sports Illustrated that it was too stressful building a team with James around, especially as everything was geared toward bringing a title to Cleveland, it was not about building for the future. They did eventually win a title in 2016 when the Cavaliers came from 3-1 down to beat the 73-win Golden State Warriors.

"Everything we did was so inorganic and unsustainable and, frankly, not fun. I was miserable," Griffin said. "Literally the moment we won the championship I knew I was gonna leave. There was no way I was gonna stay for any amount of money."

While James’ camp was shocked by Griffin’s portrayal of the 15-time NBA All-Star, the player himself responded with a post on Twitter without mentioning the Pelicans GM’s name; it stated: “Alright alright. Enough is enough. The throne has been played with too much and I ain’t for horseplay. Ether coming soon!”

However, in the same interview, Griffin went on to highlight his working relationship with James during his time with the Cavaliers. He revealed that James did consider him one of the decision-makers and admitted that his straight shooting style enabled him to have a good relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers forward.

“He knew I could help him win,” Griffin said. “You’ve got to be willing to have very difficult conversations with LeBron. I always was, which is why we had a great relationship, because I would tell him what he needed to hear and he respected that I was telling him that for the right reasons.”

James’ former teammate Kendrick Perkins, meanwhile, has come to the defense of the NBA champion and believes Griffin should be pointing fingers at Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert rather than James. The former Boston Celtics center played with James in 2015 when Griffin was the GM in Cleveland.

“Would Griff have any credibility if he wasn’t in the front office with Lebron on team? Griff for the last 2 years you praised Lebron for buying into the Culture in Cleveland and how professional he was and now your saying it’s inorganic?! Your real problem was Dan Gilbert!!!” Perkins wrote.