Retired Cleveland Cavs guard JR Smith revealed that LeBron James and teammates from the 2016 championship team, including retired forward/center Tristan Thompson, are still in a group chat without one’s knowledge. After James wouldn’t compare the 2016 champions to this year’s Cavs team, Smith says the 2016 champs’ group chat is still active nearly eight years removed from Cleveland’s first NBA title.
Smith says the group, featuring James, Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson, remains in touch, he said, per FanDuel TV’s Run It Back.
“We got some characters. Ya’ll know RJ [Richard Jefferson], Channing [Frye], and K-Love on their own. Throw in Tristan [Thompson], it’s hectic. It’s literally a snowball effect day-by-day,” Smith said. “It went off yesterday morning at like 8 o’clock. Bron is on the west coast. He be up by 5 [AM]. He’s sending stuff over there everywhere, and it’s just a lot of random stuff, especially with RJ. Oh my God.”
Smith says Thompson inspired the group to start a new chat without Tristan.
“We just started a new chat when Tristan started going a little sideways. We just made another without Tristan,” Smith said. “Then, we just started talking.”
Former NBA guard and FanDuel TV host Lou Williams says the group should have remained more patient before kicking Thompson out of the group chat.
“You gotta hold him accountable. In my group chat, if you say something out of pocket, we suspend you for a day,” Williams said. “If it’s really bad, we suspend you for a week. We’ll bring you back in a week. You gotta hold him accountable when he’s tripping.
For Smith, Thompson’s input proved to be too much.
“Yeah, he trips a lot, though,” Smith replied. “He trips a lot.”
LeBron James uninterested in comparing his teams to Cavs
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
While Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell did his best LeBron James impression by scoring 45 points, including five threes, in a 114-98 blowout win against the Magic, his team improved to 31-21 on the season. The Cavs are heading into the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.
Still, don’t ask James to compare this year’s Cavs team to the one he led to the franchise’s first and only championship in 2016, as LeBron didn’t care to give his take, he said, per X, formerly Twitter’s Oh No He Didn’t.
“The resemblance with us is a totally different game as well. Definitely not in the comparison level of my career,” James said. “I think it’s a disservice to everybody included.
The Cavs are 8-2 in their last 10 games.