Cleveland Cavaliers vs Brooklyn Nets

LeBron James was willing to switch to a power forward in order to get Joe Johnson to pick the Cleveland Cavaliers.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - LeBron James really wanted Joe Johnson to come to Cleveland after receiving a buyout from the Brooklyn Nets in late February.

Sources with knowledge of James' intentions informed cleveland.com that the four-time MVP made it known to Cavaliers' management and Johnson that he would slide to power forward on a permanent basis to open up a starting spot for his former Olympic teammate.

"All I care about is winning. That's all that matters to me," James confirmed to cleveland.com. "A piece like Joe, you know what it does to your team and if he was concerned about playing time or concerned about starting, then I'll sacrifice. I'll sacrifice to get a guy like that to help us try to win a championship."

James, until recently, has never been keen on the idea of accepting a full-time role of operating out of the post and absorbing the physical pounding that comes with the position. But understanding what's at stake, he's willing to try pretty much anything if it translates to more wins for his team.

"Man listen, I'll do anything to win. I'll kidnap my momma to win," James said to cleveland.com with a deadpan expression on his face.

Johnson ended up choosing James' old stomping ground, Miami. He felt Johnson would add another dimension to the Cavaliers' roster. James gave the recruiting process a valiant effort and even went out of his way to publicly endorse Johnson coming on board.

He says he has no regrets.

Changing positions illustrates James' urgency of winning a title for the city, completing a storybook ending. Selfishness wouldn't assist in taking down the mountains waiting in the Western Conference. It's going to take buy-in and selflessness.

Would James have made such a considerable sacrifice in years prior?

"I don't know. I don't know. I can't answer that, but I know I'll do it now," he said to cleveland.com. "I mean, you're trying to make a push. We're in March. You get a guy like Joe Johnson, you get a guy that can change your team for the better. I wouldn't have a problem with [moving to the four].

"If he wanted to come in and start and we wanted to keep J.R. [Smith] in the starting lineup and if Double-T (Tristan Thompson) or Mozzy (Timofey Mozgov) had to come off the bench in order for Joe to start and slide Kev [Love] to the five, I would have done it."