Cavaliers F LeBron James bypassed speaking at the main podium reserved for the media both "at practice Saturday and again after the Cavaliers' 132-113 loss to the Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA Finals" last night, according to Joe Vardon of the Cleveland PLAIN DEALER. He instead "took questions after the game standing in the visitors' locker room." James said the move has "nothing to do with wins and losses." Sources said that James was "upset over having to wait for the Warriors to finish talking after Game 1." Vardon notes the Cavaliers' PR department last night brought in the "local reporters who regularly cover James and the team to the front of the long line outside the locker room to ensure access." James on Saturday started his interview session on the Warriors' practice court" while Warriors F Kevin Durant was "still speaking at the podium." A source said that James had "decided not to speak at the podium before arriving at the practice facility." The league "pleaded its case with James Saturday, but he obviously upheld his own initial decision to stay in the locker room for questions" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 6/5). ESPN’s Booger McFarland said James "shouldn't have to wait if there is a scheduling issue where guys are having to wait 15, 20 minutes to do postgame interviews." The "last thing you want to do" as a player following a loss is "hang around an extra 20, 30 minutes to be asked questions that the reporter already knows the answer to” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 6/5).
STRANGE SCENE: NBA TV’s Matt Winer noted James addressing the media in the locker room is an "odd thing for a superstar player, because it forces the media into a scrum situation." Winer: "Generally speaking, it’s uncomfortable for everyone involved, which is why they have the podiums set up. I can’t emphasize enough how unusual that is after a Finals game for a star player, certainly one of his status, to do that in the locker room in a scrum situation with people scrambling to get microphones in his face." NBA TV’s Grant Hill noted James “has to do so much" regarding media obligations, but added the decision was a "little unusual in this day and age" ("NBA Live at the Finals Postgame,” NBA TV, 6/4).
