New Orleans Pelicans general manager David Griffin recently admitted he did not enjoy his time with the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. “Everything we did was so inorganic and unsustainable and, frankly, not fun. I was miserable," he explained. "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." In response, LeBron tweeted, "The throne has been played with to [sic] much and I ain't for horseplay. Ether coming soon!"
On Friday, Griffin sat down with ESPN's Jorge Sedano, Ramona Shelburne, and Dave McMenamin to clarify his comments. Talking with the three of them on The Jump, Griffin said he didn't make his point as well as he could have. In fact, it didn't have anything to do with struggles to work with LeBron, but instead the media portrayal and scrutiny he faced.
In another comment, he added that he actually got along well with LeBron. "I would say that my relationship with LeBron and Rich was very strong, and remains very strong," he added. "[We] enjoyed working together."
Asked to clarify what he said about LeBron's lack of drive after winning the championship in 2016, Griffin said, "I failed miserably in getting everyone to the right sense of urgency following the championship."
"My belief at that time was;Â there's no way anyone can be born in Ohio, deliver the first championship in 52 years to Cleveland, Ohio, and be the same human being. It's not possible," he added."Â [...] My fear at that time was that he wouldn't have that same animal-like desire to win, and what we've seen is that he's gone to multiple finals since so it was an unfounded fear I had at the time."Â
He goes on to say that the article in question, published by Sports Illustrated, didn't have the context surrounding that specific quote about LeBron after the 2016 win. "This wasn't new information, it was just presented in such a way that made it sound like I'm currently saying that, and that is not at all what took place," he added.
