When someone insists something isn't happening, sometimes that means it is.
Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert says LeBron isn't running the franchise. Such an idea is "completely false," Gilbert said yesterday, which makes us think it might have a grain of truth in it.
Not that LeBron is trying to dictate moves to Gilbert, who probably got enough of that from Danny Ferry, and is clearly not the kind of guy who takes orders. But it's also obvious that the King has more than a little influence over the hunt for a new coach.
The problem, as Ian Thomsen puts in on si.com, is why the search for a coach is "one of those chicken-and-egg things."
The Cavs won't be able to re-sign James without first hiring a big-time coach. Gilbert emphasized that James won't dictate whom they hire to coach him. But they're also not going to hire a coach who won't impress James. They need someone who can recruit LeBron, as well as deliver a title.
And the problem with that, we would argue, is that it puts the Cavs in a position of uncertainty, or what might look like indecision. And that can't be good for the effort to keep LeBron in time.
Which is why the 'Meter swings a bit today.
Like everyone else in Cleveland, we wonder what LeBron James will do when his contract is up this summer. Will he stay home, or follow the bright lights to Broadway? Until he decides to talk, we have to rely on hunches, instincts and educated guesswork. We'll report our findings, more or less daily, using the LeBron-O-Meter.