INDEPENDENCE: They were close friends when they were teammates, had a falling out last season and seem to have patched up any differences. But that doesn’t mean Daniel Gibson believes LeBron James will wear a Cavs uniform again.
When asked if he thought James could return to Cleveland as a player, Gibson let out a high-pitched scoff.
“I don’t think he’d be welcome,” Gibson said. “Hell, no. Not with the way that went down. It was a pretty tough situation.”
James openly flirted Thursday with the idea of returning to the Cavaliers. The Cavs team he’ll face tonight at Quicken Loans Arena will look vastly different than the version for which he played seven seasons.
Gibson, Anderson Varejao and Anthony Parker are all sidelined with injuries, leaving Antawn Jamison as the only remaining player from James’ final season in Cleveland — and Jamison was his teammate for only a few months.
Jamison said he was surprised James would leave open the possibility of returning to Cleveland, particularly because he’s under the Heat’s control for two more seasons.
“It’s surprising to me that he’s saying it now,” Jamison said. “Three years down the road, it wouldn’t surprise me if he entertained the idea. After the first go-round, I don’t think anything would surprise you as far as scenarios taking place. But it does surprise me a bit he would talk about it now.”
The Cavs aren’t allowed to comment on James because he is under contract to another team, but coach Byron Scott is amazed at how much guys openly flirt with other cities and teams.
Scott hails from the old-school Lakers days when guys played for one team until they were traded or left as a free agent. They didn’t discuss other cities like James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Brandon Jennings have in recent months.
“It didn’t happen in our day. You played where you played, period,” Scott said. “You didn’t publicize you wanted to play somewhere else. We just didn’t do those things. But this is a different day. We had a lot more respect for the organizations we played for.”
Despite the Cavs’ roster turnover, James still has close ties to rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. Asked if he could see James as a teammate one day, Thompson said anything is possible.
“You never know what the future has in store,” Thompson said. “I know his contract with the Heat isn’t a lifetime [deal]. We’ll wait and see.”
Gibson, though, doesn’t believe fans will forgive James for the way he left town.
“That’s a fan’s job,” Gibson said. “They are for their team. I’m sure they wouldn’t feel comfortable with that at all.”
Injury update
Scott said Varejao will not need surgery on his fractured wrist and is expected to miss four to six weeks. With about 10 weeks left in the season, there remains a chance Varejao’s season is over.
Scott said it will depend on whether Varejao misses closer to the four weeks or the six weeks and where the Cavs are in the standings when he is cleared to return.
“If he’s healthy, Andy wants to play,” Scott said. “It would be hard for me to keep him out of there if he’s healthy.”
Gibson, who sprained his left ankle during Wednesday’s win over the Indiana Pacers, remains doubtful for tonight’s game.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at http://cavs.ohio.com Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
