Basketball

´I just want to win, man´ – LeBron would welcome Stephenson

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James said he would welcome Lance Stephenson to the reigning NBA champions.

James voiced his opinion last week by claiming the Cavaliers needed to add “a playmaker”.

They took his words to heart on Wednesday, welcoming a host of free agents to Quicken Loans Arena for a chance to try out for a roster spot.

The Cavaliers held workouts with Mario Chalmers, Kirk Hinrich, Jordan Farmar, and Stephenson in an attempt to bolster a squad that had lost seven of its last 13 games entering Wednesday’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And James was surprisingly all right with the names brought in to help the team — even the troublesome Stephenson, who has failed with the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies since breaking out with the Indiana Pacers.

“I got a history with all those guys except Jordan,” James told reporters. “I got a history with Lance too, obviously. I got a history versus Kirk. I played him in a lot of playoff series. And I got a history with Rio [Chalmers]. … At the end of the day, Rio is recovering from his Achilles tear. I hope he’s been doing everything he needs to do just to get back on the floor. He loves to play the game.

“I’m a supporter of what this franchise wants to do, no matter what it’s doing. But my focus right now is to get our guys playing championship-level basketball.”

James’ history with Stephenson is as a foe, when the latter famously blew into his ear during a 2014 playoff series.

But James is willing to put that aside if it will help the team win more games.

“I just want to win, man,” James said. “That’s all that matters to me. I got no personal problems with nobody.”

Of course, Chalmers played alongside James in Miami while hoisting championship banners.

Though Chalmers has not played since suffering an Achilles injury last March, James thinks he would be a good addition if healthy.

Coach Tyronn Lue would not let anything slip when asked about the status of the players earning a tryout.

“It went well,” Lue said regarding the minicamp. “I’m not going to talk about that. A step in the process as we’re trying to get better. I’m not going to speak about that, but I was at the workout today and that’s all I’m going to speak about.”

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