CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Not every fan is thrilled with the LeBron James Era with the Cavaliers.



One fan wrote me: "Off the court, LBJ never did anything for the Cavs except lack loyalty...and his whiny drama every day. He never signed a long-term deal with the Cavs...I hope he tears up both his knees."

To be fair, the last contract James signed with the Cavs was for two years and an option. The contract he agreed to with the L.A. Lakers is for three years plus an option.

It is one year longer.

While most fans seem to accept his latest decision, there is a certain segment that wants to just blame James for . . . what?



Not winning more titles?

Several readers mentioned how the Cavs were forced to overpay for free agents such as J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson to keep them on the team.



Smith and Thompson are represented by Klutch Sports Group, the same agency as James.



Of course, one of David Griffin's worst decisions was giving Iman Shumpert a 4-year, $40 million deal on the first day of free agency in the summer of 2015. That had nothing to do with James.



Another fan wrote, "Terry, you are dead wrong. La Baby is just as big an (bleep) now as he was when he wore a NYY hat to the Indians playoffs in 2007."



Sigh. Not the Yankee hat again . . . from 11 years ago.

The James File: His last four years here, four trips to the NBA Finals.

Overall, he spent 11-of-15 NBA seasons in Cleveland.



You'd think the guy was flunking drug tests, being arrested and terrorizing the city as the Cavs were losing in the first round of the playoffs.

Steve emailed:

"I can only say, good riddance! The Plain Dealer should have him on the cover in a Dress, depicting the Drama Queen he has become! Great player and really good to the community, but man his act has gotten old!"

This is not to claim James belongs on a church window. I never called him "King James." He's a basketball player, not a god.



But he is the best thing that ever happened to the Cavs.



Getting real



Some fans seem to think he wrecked this franchise.



I received this email from Kirk:



"How many of LeBron's five NBA coaches (Paul Silas, Mike Brown, Erik Spoelstra, David Blatt and Ty Lue) do you think would say he was a team player and an unselfish teammate who always had the best interest of the team in mind -- and not his own legacy?



"LeBron never had any respect for his coaches and was not shy about publicly demonstrating that fact."



Let's think about this one.



LeBron is difficult to coach.



Leave Silas out of the discussion. He had James in his first two pro seasons. He likes James . . . a lot.



If James is such a selfish team-destroyer, why is it he took Brown to The Finals . . .



And Blatt to The Finals . . .



And Lue to The Finals . . . three times!



And Spoelstra to the Finals . . . four times!



And how many times did any of those guys come near The Finals without James?



Granted, Lue only coached James. But Brown's career suffered after James. Same with Spoelestra.



On the Warriors, Draymond Green is volatile. Kevin Durant can be moody. Stephen Curry has a huge ego and dubious shot selection at times.

But they make it work.

A little history



Kobe Bryant demanded the Lakers trade Shaquille O'Neal. Magic Johnson insisted the Lakers fire Coach Paul Westhead.



For a book called "Tall Tales," I interviewed Red Auerbach about why he made Bill Russell Player-Coach when Auerbach moved into the front office.



His answer?



Only Russell could coach Russell.



There is a reason the average NBA coach survives fewer than three seasons with a team.



I just looked at the Cavs' Eastern Conference. Only these coaches have been with their current teams for at least three years: Brad Stevens (Boston), Erik Spoelestra (Miami), Brett Brown (Philadelphia) and Fred Hoiberg (Chicago).



That's it: Four out of 15.

The league is a nightmare for coaches with so many players making so much money and, yes, having so much power.



Free agents not moving



What fans fail to notice is big-time free agents have not been moving much the last few years.



Durant was the exception, going from Oklahoma City to Golden State in the summer of 2016.



But look at this year:



Paul George stayed in Oklahoma City, a year after Russell Westbrook signed an extension to stay with OKC.



Chris Paul signed an extension to stay with Houston after being traded there.



For years, fans in L.A. were complaining because the Lakers couldn't sign a big time free agent.



Most of the time, you make a trade for a star and then convince him to re-sign with you. The Cavs did it with Kevin Love. That happened with George and Paul this summer.



Houston traded for James Harden, then signed him to an extension. The rules favor players re-signing with their own teams.



Or you draft well. Suppose the Cavs drafted Klay Thompson instead of Tristan Thompson in 2011? Or Victor Oladipo instead of Anthony Bennett in 2013?



The Warriors are built on three draft picks: Green, Thompson and Curry. They won a title in 2015 without Durant.



I'm not saying James is an ideal teammate or wonderful to coach. I am asking fans to take a look a what really happens in the NBA -- and how James found a way to make it work.









