LeBron James plays the victim card when questioned about Blatt sacking

DAYS after yet another head coach got fired while coaching LeBron James, the NBA star said his impact on his teams’ decision-making is overblown.

FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2015, file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt pats LeBron James on the chest at the end of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia. James’ calculating image wasn’t helped when the Cavaliers stunningly fired Blatt on Friday, Jan. 22, despite Blatt leading the team to the NBA Finals last season and an Eastern Conference-best 30-11 record this season. James has played for three coaches during his two stints in Cleveland, (AP Photo/Michael Perez, File)

LEBRON James doesn’t believe he’s a coach-killer.

Days after David Blatt became the latest head coach to get fired while coaching James, the Cavaliers star said his impact on his teams’ decision-making is overblown.

“People get it so misconstrued because I’m a smart basketball player and I’ve voiced my opinion about certain things,” James told reporters Wednesday in Independence, Ohio.

“What do you guys want me to do? Turn my brain off because I have a huge basketball IQ? If that’s what they want me to do, I’m not going to do it because I’ve got so much to give to the game.”

And he’s not pleased about the blow to his reputation.

“I think it does suck that people want to throw my name in dirt for no particular reason, because of speculation or whatever the case may be,” James said.

The most recent comments came from Heat part-owner Raanan Katz, who told an Israeli sports radio show that James tried to get rid of Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra.

“With the Miami Heat, LeBron James — before and after his four seasons when his contract was up with the team — made it clear that he wanted to dump head coach Erik Spoelstra,’’ Katz said on the show.

Later, though, Katz backtracked, telling the Orlando Sun-Sentinel: “That was my opinion. I am very careful with what I say. I have no knowledge of what happened.”

Either way, James was unimpressed with Katz’s credentials.

“I have no idea who that is,” James said. “I don’t even know if a lot of guys that actually played ever met him. I was there for four years and I never met him. … I don’t think he was involved in any of the conversations that goes on with the personnel of the team or the coaching staff or anything. But it’s easy to say that at this point.”

Katz, as it turns out, was previously a shareholder in Maccabi Tel Aviv, Blatt’s former team.

Still, this wasn’t the first time coaching arguably the league’s best player hasn’t ended well.

Mike Brown was canned in Cleveland in 2010 before James departed for the Heat, reportedly in an attempt to appease him as a free agent. Paul Silas was fired during James’ second season.

Was sacked coach David Blatt the latest victim of LeBron James’ ‘huge basketball IQ’?

This time, Cavs GM David Griffin said he didn’t consult James before replacing Blatt with assistant Tyronn Lue. Clearly, not everyone believes him, especially because Lue was considered a favourite of James’.

Despite the controversy surrounding him, James said he doesn’t intend to change.

“If I feel I got something that will help our team, ultimately, I like to give it,” James said. “It helped me get two titles.”

With his hometown Cavaliers (31-12) in prime position to capture the No. 1 seed in Eastern Conference, James insisted he wasn’t spending much time dwelling on the situation.

“But you can’t worry about it too much,” James said. “I got a fan base here and a fan base all over the world that loves what I do and they respect what I do and I can’t worry about a select group of people that want to use their negative energy to take away my positive energy. I can’t allow that to happen.”

This story originally appeared on the New York Post

Originally published as LeBron James plays the victim card when questioned about Blatt sacking