These guys owe LeBron James their life…
Over the last 23 years, LeBron had more than 250 teammates, and for many of those guys it was a blessing, ‘cuz after playing a solid season or two alongside James they instantly got paid.
And Larry Bird has a whole theory about that.
We’ll see by the end of the video how many of his teammates really deserved the bag they got.
So let’s start chronologically with guys from his early Cavs days.
1. Anderson Varejao was a below average center, but because of the lack of quality players in Cleveland, he played 28 minutes per game and started for half the season in 2008-09.
The Wild Thing, as they called him mostly for his hairstyle, averaged 8 points and 7 rebounds on 53% efficiency, being the 5th scoring option behind James, Mo Williams, Ilgauskas and Delonte West. Damn, LeBron really led this bunch to a league best 66-16 record.
So, despite losing in 6 games to the Orlando Magic in the Conference Finals, the Brazilian signed a huge 6 year $48 mil deal in July, 2009. And Cavs fans quickly saw the fruits of that…
Jokes aside, in the next 5 seasons, Varejao flirted with a double-double, posting 9.5 points and rebounds per game, looking impressive at times. But he did that while playing only part-time, missing 46% of the games total due to injuries. Entering his last contract year, Anderson got another gift from heaven, as James was set to return to Cleveland for the 2014-15 season. So he wanted his old buddy to be there as well, and secured him a 3 year $30 mil extension. But Varejao’s numbers went plummeting, and he stayed for only half of that, ironically ending up on the Warriors for the 2nd part of that iconic 2015-16 season. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him watching his Cavaliers win the chip without him, but at least he watched them celebrate with his pockets full.
2. Next we have Sasha Pavlovic. A guy from Montenegro that’s been a valuable rotational piece alongside James in that surprising 2007 trip to the Finals. Posting 9 points per game in 23 minutes off the bench while shooting a solid 40% from downtown, got Sasha a 3 year $13.5 mil deal. That’s around 4.5 mil per season, which is considered minimum nowadays. But for that time, it was pretty decent. And ever since he signed those papers, his production fell off completely. From 7.5 points the following year, to a measly 4 and a half in 2008-09. This forced the Cavs front office to ship him away later in that summer. This made Pavlovic a classic journeyman, suiting up for 5 teams in 4 seasons before eventually call it a career in 2013.
3. This leads us to the guy from the intro, Timofey Mozgov. In 2015 the Cavs brought the Russian big man to fill in the void of Varejao. And for 46 games as a starting center, he posted 10.5 points and 7 rebounds on 59% from the field, which is totally fine for someone playing on the same roster with LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin Love.
In the playoffs, he hovered around the same production, with his efficiency dropping to 50%. With the Cavs up 2-1 against the Warriors and both Irving and Love out for the rest of the Finals, Mozgov had the game of his career. He absolutely balled out, putting up 28 points and 10 boards in the dominant 20 point… LOSS. Yeah, his best game went down the drain, as the Cavs were no match for Curry and Iggy. And the rest is history as the Warriors went on to win the title in 6 games. The following season however, the Cavs returned for a payback. But with a healthy K-Love and a younger and more energized big man in Tristan Thompson, Mozgov saw a huge dip in playing time.
In 17 minutes on the floor, he posted only 6 points and 4 rebounds per game in the regular season. And by the time the playoffs came, he completely fell out of the rotation, appearing in just 13 games while averaging a lousy 1 point and 1 board in only 5 minutes of action.
But the Lakers didn’t mind that at all, and decided to throw at him a gigantic 4 year $64 million deal. This immediately became one of the most infamous overpays in NBA history, as he got traded to the Nets just a season later where he ended his career at 31 years of age in 2018.
4. Another guy that cashed in big from winning it all with LeBron is Matthew Dellavedova.
Now don’t get me wrong, Delly was a fan favorite in Cleveland, justifyingly getting praised for his defensive abilities. Especially for hounding Steph Curry in the Finals…
He was paid the bare minimum by the Cavs during his 3 years in Cleveland. In his best season statistically, he averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 assists on 41% shooting from 3 point range.
In the playoffs, his statline dropped to less than 4 points and 3 assists per game. But his image was far more valuable, and the Milwaukee Bucks fell for it.
#lebronjames #nba #basketball
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