LeBron James 'Frustrated and Concerned' With the Cavaliers' Offseason Decisions

By Noriel See, Christian Post Contributor Wednesday, July 19, 2017

The 2017 National Basketball Association (NBA) offseason has been quite eventful, to say the least. An arms race has engulfed the Western Conference, and in the East, the Boston Celtics managed to sign All-Star wing Gordon Hayward. The other contenders in the conference didn't improve much, but they managed to keep their core together for another playoff run next season.

But what about the Cleveland Cavaliers? What have they been doing?

Well, aside from signing Jeff Green, José Calderón and Cedi Osman, the Cavaliers have been sitting on the sidelines since the start of free agency and LeBron James isn't happy with their inactivity.

USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt has reported that James is "frustrated and concerned" by the Cavaliers' lack of offseason moves. That's a cause for concern for the organization because this may push him to leave the city of Cleveland once again when he becomes a free agent next season.

Of course, it's easy to blame Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert because he made the decision to part ways with general manager David Griffin and vice president Trent Redden during a critical time in the offseason. However, FOX Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb believes that James is partly to blame as well for their problems.

"He's not the general manager, but he's pushed the general manager and the owner to spend on his guys, on his team, and they have responded in kind and that's why they're in luxury tax hell," Gottlieb said on FOX Sports' "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," via Cavaliers Nation.

Right now, the team's payroll is by far the highest in NBA history.

Some Cavaliers fans don't want to hear it, but Gottlieb actually made a good point. James pushed the Cavaliers to give a limited player like Tristan Thompson a hefty contract, and he also convinced them to spend big to re-sign J.R. Smith.

Sure, Smith is a solid contributor on the offensive end of the floor, and Thompson's a pretty good rebounder. But James could have persuaded those two to take less money to stay with the team. Moreover, James could have taken less money himself. Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki did that this summer.

Yes, James already left money on the table to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. But he must be willing to do the same with the Cavaliers if he wants to see the organization win another title.