LeBron James Discusses Anthony Davis, Antonio Brown Becoming 'Distractions'
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James discussed the narrative surrounding New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis and Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown with the pair on the latest episode of his HBO series The Shop.
Davis made a trade request in January, and Brown made his desire to move on from the Steelers known earlier in February. Both appear as guests on the episode, and Brown noted people have labeled him as a "distraction."
James then compared Brown's situation to Davis'. Per TMZ Sports, he showed his support for the seven-year veteran:
"Seven years in the league, nobody's ever said ... anything negative about AD," James said. "But you can tell when the narrative changed when you don't do what they want you to do."
Davis, Brown, Maverick Carter, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Jamie Foxx and Jerrod Carmichael were all guests on the second-season premiere.
There are two sides to the debate for both players.
For Davis, he made a midseason trade request 10 days before the deadline, which put the Pelicans in a significant bind (and still has as he plays out the string of his New Orleans career).
The narrative surrounding New Orleans in the present day is whether or not Davis will play a given game and how many minutes he'll provide. It's choking the team as they sputter to a likely playoff-less season.
He's been booed by home fans and was taken out of the team's introduction video. As Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports noted, the entire saga has become a "charade."
But what does Davis owe to anyone else at this point?
He dominated for New Orleans for seven years while fighting through injuries. He's unquestionably one of the best players in the game and has created little drama. As James noted, Davis had a sterling reputation over his first seven years. No one said anything bad about him.
With the Pels struggling to begin the season, it was clear that the playoffs would be hard to reach, let alone a championship. He ultimately requested a trade for a simple professional reason: a better shot at a title. Naturally, things are going to get a little messy when a superstar of Davis' caliber requests a move. That isn't his fault, per se.
As far as Brown goes, Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette outlined some events involving the wideout, which include a refusal to practice prior to the Steelers' Week 17 game last season and not showing up at the team facility a day after a Week 2 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Some of the events involving Brown were distractions and perhaps led to the point of no return regarding him and the team.
On the other hand, these comments from Brown after the Chiefs game are pretty telling (via Dave Bryan of Steelers Depot):
"Obviously I'm in the spotlight, so you guys don't always, you know, put me under the microscope. But I'm a compassionate individual. I can't fake the way I feel, you know, I can't hide the way I feel. If it wasn't important to me and then I'll just say it don't matter. But I'm not that type of guy who is just around here cashing checks and don't care. It just means something to me and it not only means something to me, it means something to my family. And when football is not fun and I can't dedicate to it and take it serious, I shouldn't be here."
No one can argue with what Brown has done for the Steelers franchise. He's missed just seven games over the past eight years, made the Pro Bowl seven times and led the league in receptions and receiving yards twice each. It's not as if he didn't "care," because Brown overcame significant odds as a sixth-round pick to become a surefire Hall of Famer some day.
Naturally, with great success comes more public attention (and sometimes scrutiny), which is something every star athlete must handle.
And as Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley noted in the Bleacher Report "Are You Listening" series, "[fans] don't see you as people for whatever reason when you walk onto that court."
Ultimately, Davis and Brown may come off as distractions, and things could have certainly gotten better in their final days with both franchises. But it's worth trying to see where they're coming from as well.
