ESPN dropped an article why Bron was mad financially
Inside LeBron James' and Adam Silver's make-or-break moments in China
THE LAKERS DEPARTED LAX on Monday, Oct. 7 for the 14½-hour journey -- and their plane had no Wi-Fi connection. As the teams crossed 15 time zones and the Pacific date line, the reaction to Morey's tweet continued to escalate.
"We had zero knowledge of it before we took off,"
LeBron James said of the backlash.
James,
Anthony Davis,
Kyle Kuzma and
Rajon Rondo -- to name a few -- all had appearances canceled. One Lakers player, sources told ESPN, had agreed to a $1 million endorsement deal with a Chinese company prior to the trip. When he arrived, poof, it was gone. A seven-figure payday out the window.
James, after having taken 15 consecutive summer trips to China, had skipped it this year to complete the filming of "Space Jam 2," anticipating that the China Games would act as a substitute. Some of his most important appearances of the year -- including two with Nike and one with Beats by Dre -- were canceled during this trip.
According to public financial statements, Nike and other companies' basketball shoe sales have been relatively flat in recent quarters in North America -- but have been surging in China, where millions of teenagers save up to buy the latest signature models.
Eating an early lunch back at the hotel, players watched as the banners featuring their images -- and the logos of former sponsors -- were peeled off and pulled down until they laid in a clump at the base of the building. The players could only shake their heads at the sight.
"Everything was getting canceled right before things were [supposed to be] happening," James said. "Everything was getting canceled."
Silver opened up the floor. James raised his hand.
His question was related to Morey -- and the commissioner's handling of the Rockets' GM. James, to paraphrase, told Silver he knew that if a player caused the same type of uproar from something he said or tweeted, the player wouldn't be able to skate on it. There would be some type of repercussion. So, James wanted to know, what was Silver going to do about it in Morey's case?
Silver pushed back, reminding the players that the league never doled out discipline when they publicly criticized President Donald Trump. Morey was exercising the same liberty when he challenged China. Regardless of the financial fallout of one versus the other, that's not what should matter. He might have disliked the ramifications of Morey's tweet, but he would defend his right to say it.
But James wasn't done.
"I never speak for just me, things that just benefit me. I try to be educated as much as I can and speak from a pure heart of how can I protect not only me, but protect the players as well in that situation."
LeBron James
Morey wasn't there to answer questions, he countered. Silver hadn't spoken to the media in China either. Why would this fall on the players to address?
James told the room it was too much for the players to take on in that moment -- to explain a complicated issue with racial, socio-economic and geopolitical layers while visitors in China. It was time to follow the league's lead.
"Obviously, when he speaks up, people pay attention," a Nets source told ESPN.
Kyrie Irving, according to sources who were in the room, questioned whether it was worth playing the games in such a charged environment. He said he was there to play basketball games, and if a requirement for those games was dealing with the fallout that Morey's tweet created, he would rather not play at all.
After about 30 minutes, Silver and others exited the room to allow for a players-only meeting. And once the others were gone, the players worked to find a consensus. James told the room he wanted both teams in total agreement about how they would approach the rest of the trip. His instinct was to shield his colleagues from a near impossible public-relations chasm.
"It's always a responsibility with me as far as players, a protection for the players," James said on Monday. "That's always [on my mind]. I never speak for just me, things that just benefit me. I try to be educated as much as I can and speak from a pure heart of how can I protect not only me, but protect the players as well in that situation."