Darrell Moody: Cavs have already paid James enough ransom

Holding a team hostage. That’s what LeBron James is doing to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Why can’t James tell the team he’s staying or leaving? Is he afraid of the backlash if he announces during the season with the team still trying to win an Eastern Conference championship again?

Come on LeBron, you may be one of the greatest of all time, but your behavior stinks. All the Cavs have done is pay you a ton of money and acquire players (within salary cap constraints) you wanted in Cleveland. They’ve done as much as possible to keep you happy.

The Cavs are hamstrung in a sense. They’ve built the team around LeBron. They have Brooklyn’s first-round pick, and I think if James was staying, they might give that up to get somebody who could help them down the stretch.

If LeBron leaves, the Cavs will hold onto the pick because they’re probably going to have to blow up the team and start over again.

I admit, I love the recent discord surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers. There’s a lot of bickering, and much of it has centered around Kevin Love, who just broke his hand, and Isaiah Thomas, who was acquired from the Celtics. I think the Cavs could have seriously entertained some offers for Love, but I think the hand injury stopped that.

Should LeBron leave, Love probably stays because of his salary. He’s not, however, a guy you can build a team around. He’s a good No. 2 guy.

I keep hearing LeBron to the Lakers. Does LeBron really want to go to the Lakers and deal with Lavar Ball and his crap? If Magic Johnson can’t keep Daddy Ball from opening his yap, I don’t know who can. I doubt LeBron would want to be around that drama anyway.

Another reason for the Lakers not to sign James is age. He only has 2-3 more seasons left, and I don’t think it’s worth tearing up your team for that. Even the addition of just James isn’t going to get the Lakers past Golden State, and that’s what every team in the NBA is doing is trying to assemble a team to beat the Warriors.

Frankly I’d rather see the Celtics or Raptors come out of the East and challenge the Warriors. Another Cleveland-Golden State match-up isn’t what I want to see.

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Speaking of the Warriors, it will be interesting when 2019 rolls around.

Klay Thompson, if I’m not mistaken, is scheduled to become a free agent. After he signed a lucrative off-season shoe deal, he intimated he could play for less to stay with the Warriors.

I like Thompson. He plays great defense and he’s a tremendous catch-and-shoot guy. I don’t believe you could build a team around him, however. He would be a great No. 2 guy on any team.

Kevin Durant didn’t sign a long-term deal, but he hasn’t made any noise about leaving, and he took several million less so the Warriors could keep Andre Igoudala and Shaun Livingston. He’s the best all-around player in the NBA right now.

If the Warriors don’t get too selfish, I believe they can keep this going for another 4-5 years. The only chink in the armor is a true rim-protecting center. Other than that, the Warriors have good depth.