Pat Riley was caught pretty off guard. Dwyane Wade said he didn’t know until the night before. Most of us didn’t find out until the Sports Illustrated letter.
LeBron James clued very few people into his decision to sign with the Cavaliers.
But one person who had an early idea: Cleveland guard Dion Waiters.
Waiters, via Brendan Bowers of SLAM:“We’ve talked,” Waiters said of his new teammate. “I actually talked with LeBron before he made his decision. He called me and just told me to be ready. Be ready. I talked to him four or five days before he made his decision. He just got on the phone and said I haven’t made my mind up yet but be ready.
I told him that I’m already working hard. I’ll be ready. And he said, I know, I know you are. Then a few days later I read the letter. I was just really excited for the city of Cleveland. I think the city, more than anybody, deserves this. They deserve to have LeBron coming back. I think the excitement is really back in Cleveland and I’m looking forward to being a part of that.”
On the court, I don’t see Waiters and LeBron as a great fit. Waiters can’t do enough off the ball, and the ball obviously will – and should – run through LeBron (and to a lesser degree, Kyrie Irving). It’s to the point I, unlike Waiters, don’t believe Waiters should start.
But there’s clearly a level of trust between LeBron and Waiters, and that can go a long way – if Waiters isn’t included in the Kevin Love trade.
