NEW YORK: LeBron James wished President-elect Donald Trump well and likened his decision not to stay with the team at Trump SoHo to choosing between chicken and steak.
For the first time in his career, James stayed at a hotel separate from his teammates as a sort of protest against Trump, whom he was sharply critical of in the weeks leading up to the election. Trump no longer owns the SoHo hotel, but it still bears his name.
“I’m not trying to make a statement. It’s just my personal preference,” James said. “At the end of the day, I hope he’s one of the best presidents ever for all of our sake — my family, for all of us. But it’s just my personal preference. It would be the same if I went to a restaurant and decided to eat chicken and not steak.”
Nothing else about the game-day routine changed. James and the other teammates still took the bus to the arena for morning shootaround and James was on the first bus to the arena prior to Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks just like always.
The Cavaliers signed a contract with Trump SoHo for this season well before the election and will also return there in February, when the Cavs again play at the Knicks. They are not expected to re-sign with any Trump brands after this season. About half the team has joined James at a separate location.
“It’s not normal,” said coach Tyronn Lue, who is staying at the Trump hotel. “But considering the circumstances, that’s what we have. That’s not my main objective. My main thing is just trying to get this team to stay on track and playing the right way and trying to get back to playing Cleveland Cavaliers basketball.”
Liggins starts
DeAndre Liggins started at shooting guard against the Knicks. Lue chose Liggins to start in place of J.R. Smith, who is out with a hyperextended left knee.
It was the second start of Liggins’ career. His only other start was in 2013 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Just like the energy he brings,” Lue said. “When you get that kind of energy from a guy, I think it’s contagious. I think guys on the team play harder when they see him flying all around the floor.”
Lue chose Liggins over Iman Shumpert, the former Knick who is filling in as the Cavs’ backup point guard. Lue addressed the decision with Shumpert.
“He understands and it’s not about who starts but who finishes. Not really having the backup point guard solidified, Shump is going to be a big part of that,” Lue said. “We can’t have him and Kyrie both on the floor to get fouls, and now we’re searching and looking around. He understood and he didn’t have a problem with it at all.”
As for Smith, Lue was encouraged to learn there was no structural damage to the knee, because he feared the worst.
“Great news. Talked to him last night, said he feels normal,” Lue said. “That’s a good sign. With the way he fell and the way he reacted, I thought he was going to be out for a long time.”
Dribbles
The Cavs entered the night with seven consecutive wins over the Knicks. … Irving began the night averaging 28.4 points in five games at Madison Square Garden, his highest scoring average among all NBA arenas.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com.