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LeBron James: The media is making drama of Kyrie vs. LeBron again

Ronald Agers|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 23: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers with Kyrie Irving #11 after the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on January 23, 2020 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matteo Marchi/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 23: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers with Kyrie Irving #11 after the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on January 23, 2020 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matteo Marchi/Getty Images)
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LeBron James
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) – LeBron James

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are always connected.

With the logistics of the NBA starting up again, discussions have sparked from health to social unrest. Soon the media will be making it Kyrie Irving vs. LeBron James. Lake Show Life tries to shine the light on phase two of the road back to action and how Irving and LeBron are being pitted against each other for the millionth time!  

For a few weeks, it was supposed to be understood that the NBA plans to restart its season in Orlando on July 30 with 22 teams to report to Orlando to get in the “bubble”. Based on numerous reports, the NBA and the NBAPA were on the same page and even though a few things needed to be sorted out, there wouldn’t be too much drama.

Lake Show Life has been around too long to think that life in the NBA is that calm. Speaking of life, that’s just what happened. Life.

  • Florida is seeing an increasing spike of positive COVID-19 cases. Since the past weekend, there are daily record numbers that more than likely will increase.
  • Then there were the protests of police brutality and racism. George Floyd’s passing in police custody in Minneapolis started the Black Lives Matter movement.
  • Then last Friday came Kyrie Irving.

Lake Show Life heard the rumors last week that two players from both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers were having second thoughts about continuing the season. Soon after the article was released it was reported that Avery Bradley and Dwight Howard were the players Matt Barnes was talking about. Over the weekend, Lou Williams made his concerns known.

If players do decide to stay home, they’ll lose out on money, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll be penalized by the league beyond that. The NBA has announced that players that do not make the trip to play without a medical excuse will not be compensated.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed the intentions of the NBA going forward on a special ESPN “SportsCenter” broadcast on Monday evening.

Kyrie Irving and Avery Bradley according to a report by ESPN, are being recognized as the leaders of a new player coalition that wants further investigations of the NBA’s tentative plans to restart the season.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews:  

"Irving, Bradley and the coalition of players want to pursue some concerns further with the league, sources said, including: the investment of resources and ideas of all league constituencies — from the commissioner’s office, ownership level, management and players association — in social justice reform. Among concerns surrounding the league’s return-to-play after a three-month shutdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, sources said the coalition is citing : a surge in positive coronavirus cases in Florida, conditions surrounding the restrictive environment in the bubble, insurance and liabilities for players based on possible sicknesses, and injuries in a truncated finish to the season."

The drama that started with Kyrie’s conference call with players last week won’t last very long. According to Shams Charania, the NBA gave the players a deadline of June 24th, which is next Wednesday to decide whether they will participate or not.

Many veterans believe that playing in Orlando would serve as a distraction and stall the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement. However, the game’s biggest star, LeBron James, has made it clear that he supports returning to play and believes that players can impact social justice movements from Florida.

Patrick Beverley took to Twitter to tell the world how this is all going to play out.

https://twitter.com/patbev21/status/1272254786268618752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1272254786268618752&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flakeshowlife.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D114019%26action%3Dedit

This just in to Lake Show Life. The NBA will return next month and there will be a champion crowned. There is an underlying issue that has to be addressed. The coverage.

Looking at the Patrick Beverley tweet above, many fans made it about painting LeBron James as a villain (More on that later!). But what is being done to Kyrie Irving by way of how his character is being portrayed in the media is worse. With a few days left before the June 24th deadline, many sports networks and writers have plenty of time to spin a narrative. An oldie but goodie.

LeBron James vs. Kyrie Irving. 

It seems ridiculous in the grand scheme of things with a pandemic and social unrest raging across the country, doesn’t it? Well, Lake Show Life has dealt with stranger things.

As you see here, it seems that Fox News (Most notably former Fox employee, Jason Whitlock!) has a one-sided beef with LeBron James. For the last few days, some members of sports media have turned on Kyrie Irving.

Lake Show Life takes a look over the next several pages at the trend from the sports media that is slowly switching the narrative from getting the NBA players back on the floor in a safe manner to pitting two NBA stars against each other putting faces on the pros and cons of continuing the NBA season.