LeBron James: Possible feuds started with Daryl Morey comments

LeBron James low-key denounced Daryl Morey for his tweet. Something China wanted Adam Silver to do! 

When the Daryl Morey tweet got out and angered the Chinese government, most thought (Especially China officials!) that Adam Silver would denounce Morey and separate him from the NBA and himself. Something that Rockets owner, Fertitta made very clear in his public statements apologizing for the incident.

Listen to what Silver says in his press conference.

This was an attempt to buy time with damage control until something could be salvaged with China. The plan presumably was to get the two games played and find a plan to work things out over time.

In the press conference, Silver admitted because of his decision to stand by Morey that the China problem “May not die so quickly”.  But the goal was to handle the situation quietly and keep any unnecessary attention away from an already volatile situation.

Let’s compare Silver’s comments and context to LeBron James on Monday night.

That caption at the top basically says it all. Every word will be dissected especially the “uneducated” part of the comments. Now its a free for all on social media that even broke down comparisons of Morey’s and James’ education. Jokes are floating around as well. 

But jokes aside, this is a potential feud that LeBron James does not need. James is the undisputed face of the NBA. The entire business marketing plan is centered around him. That doesn’t mean that he can’t be replaced. If the NBA can survive Michael Jordan retiring on three separate occasions, it’s not impossible for the NBA to replace LeBron.

In fact, his potential replacement is already here. He plays in New Orleans and goes by the name of Zion Williamson. He brings athleticism, powerful dunks and a spark of fan excitement not seen since 2003 (The year LeBron James showed up!) that will command attention from NBA fans worldwide.

With his smile and Jordan shoe deal, the NBA can market this guy for the next 10 to 15 years. With Zion on his rookie deal, NBA’s return on their investment will pay off handsomely.

In short, he’s not getting paid $35 million dollars and causing waves.

Is this saying that LeBron’s statements are wrong? No. But it’s not smart to go over the NBA commissioner’s head and make statements that directly affect ongoing negotiations that he may not know about behind the scenes.

James is about player empowerment, but he’s not bigger than Adam Silver and the NBA owners who could lose billions of dollars by statements that make things worse. Adam Silver has bigger fish to fry at this point and it’s not Daryl Morey’s well-being. It’s the cleanup.

China is a huge market for the NBA, where a single tweet caused major fissures that continue to get wider between China and the NBA as a result.

Silver now has to make sure more Chinese companies that sponsor the Rockets don’t leave, such as sporting goods manufacturer Li-Ning and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, who suspended their relationships with the Rockets.

The broadcasting partners, CCTV and internet giant Tencent, who just signed a five-year, $1.5 billion deal in August to stream NBA games in China, will not show Rockets games. There are people behind the scenes making sure that they don’t blackout all of the teams. Think LeBron will be happy if the rest of the teams get banned? Adam Silver won’t.

This is business 101. If the league’s most famous player and the most powerful executive can’t get along, guess who the NBA is going to choose?

Speaking of LeBron James and business.