The more NBA stars deny drama, the more the media continues to fuel the idea that there are issues in the first place. On Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat will face off in a preseason game in Brazil. In any normal circumstance, this would not be a big deal considering it is a meaningless preseason game. However, this matchup is the first reunion of the Big 3 since LeBron James departed and of course, everyone wants to know if there is any lingering tension between the former teammates.
Everyone involved in this game is downplaying the hype surrounding it. James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are all saying the right things in front of the media after they split in free agency this season. Bosh was quick to deny the drama noting that James had to do what he thought was best and there were certainly no hard feelings.
"There's no hard feelings or anything," Bosh said, via ESPN.com. "If we're both trying to win, he's against us, and that's a matter of fact. My time is backwards and everything, but we talked. I want people to understand I'm a competitor, and he's on the other team. I think he'd understand that, and I understand that, and that's how it is now."
James elaborated a little more on the upcoming reunion. He noted that in the end this game was meant for everyone to get better regardless of who the opponent was. He is more concerned in improving his team for the season, but did say that it would be good to see his old friends.
"It's going to be special to see those guys on Saturday," James said. "But both teams are here to work. I'll acknowledge those guys for sure, I'm still cool with all of those guys. It's really not a story, it's what people make it. I just made a decision like a lot of people made decisions this summer."
Some players are not sounding as cool with their reunion with James as Bosh and Wade are. Mario Chalmers has always had lingering tension with his former teammate considering he was on the losing end of his frustrations a number of times. Chalmers is warning Irving that James is not afraid to yell and will most certainly yell at him if he messes something.
"LeBron is a dominant player so if he feels like something is not going his way, he's going to say something about it," Chalmers said, via Northeast Ohio Media Group. "For Kyrie, he's going to have to adjust to that and LeBron is going to have to adjust to Kyrie. It's going to be a different factor for Kyrie."
