Wait, is this tampering?
The ties between the professional sports teams in Cleveland are strong. So much so, that Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has a partial minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers. The relationship between Garrett and at least one of those teams is a little different now that he requested a trade from the Browns earlier this week.
Before requesting a trade out of Cleveland, Garrett apparently reached out to Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.
“I heard a little bit from a Cleveland or Akron native as well,” Garrett said to the Rich Eisen Show when asked who he talked to before requesting his trade.
The Browns superstar shook up Super Bowl week by announcing his trade request — @Flash_Garrett told us why now?
And did he really seek council from another famous Ohioan?#NFL #DawgPound @KingJames #SBLIX pic.twitter.com/W5Gr6CURpJ
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) February 5, 2025
James may be somewhat of an expert in leaving Cleveland sports teams as he’s moved on from the Cavs twice so far in his career. Garrett’s trade request won’t have the backlash that LeBron taking his talents to South Beach did, but there will be some fallout regardless of how the trade request is handled.
No matter what happens in Cleveland sports, it seems like LeBron is connected to it in some way.
“[I asked him] what a transition looked like for him,” Garrett said. “What was his thought process going into it before he left Cleveland? And just making sure I made a logical decision, taking my time, and trying to take away the pressure of doing something like that. I know that area, Cleveland, Northeast Ohio, has been his home. It feels like my home as well.”
James has been public about being a Browns fan, but that didn’t impact the advice he gave Garrett before asking for the trade.
“He was not,” Garrett said when asked if LeBron was disappointed. “He had actually been reaching out to me, to talk and get my side of things. He’s been a part of difficult times [at the] start of his first start of his career and being so frustrated with being so close to the pinnacle of his sport. And [he] just wanted to see exactly how I was feeling, where my head was at, and if I need to talk to anyone and if I was ready to consider any kind of move that he was there to communicate with and lead on.”
We’ll see how the trade saga with Garrett plays out and whether that impacts what he decides to do with his minority stake in the Cavs.
In the meantime, it’s probably safe to say that we won’t see Garrett at his usual center-court seats for Cavaliers games.