David Stern was opposed to LeBron James airing ‘The Decision’

Former NBA commissioner David Stern was opposed to LeBron James airing “The Decision.”

One of the most memorable moments in Cleveland Cavaliers, nay, NBA history is the day that LeBron James held a 10-minute television special called “The Decision” to announce where he would sign in his first career free agency.

Aired by ESPN on July 8, 2010, James would announce he was leaving the Cavs to sign with the Miami Heat, to various reactions.

"“I’m taking my talents to South Beach.”"

In Miami, James’ announcement was celebrated with fanfare. In Cleveland, broken-hearted fans burned his jersey in the street.

Author Ian Thomsen, who appeared on “The Lowe Post” podcast — hosted by ESPN’s Zach Lowe — on Wednesday, would discuss an interview he had with then-commissioner David Stern about “The Decision.”

According to Thomsen, NBA fans weren’t the only ones conflicted about airing James’ free agent decision (quote transcribed by LeBron Wire’s Erik García Gundersen):

"“Adam [Silver] on the one hand was understanding of LeBron and the predicament he was in and [David] Stern was more the hardline guy that this was a bad thing,” Thomsen said. “It didn’t really surface but you could sense they had different views of it. I think that helped draw David out and say that hey ‘this was a terrible thing that happened and we tried to stop it.’”"

As for what “predicament” that Adam Silver — Stern’s successor as NBA commissioner — felt James was in, there are two primary options:

The first and more simple option is that “The Decision” was a charitable cause. $2.5 million was expected to be generated for the Boys & Girls Club of America thanks to the ad-based revenue generated by the special. James feels a special affinity for the Boys & Girls Club, which he called “safe havens” for him growing up on the LeBron James Family Foundation’s website.

It was a bit presumptuous of James to assume that — regardless of the charitable contributions — people would completely set aside their fandom, failing to find themselves caught up in the emotional whirlwind of watching a hometown hero leave. However, it’s too often swept under the rug that “The Decision” helped changed the lives of tens of thousands of children, even if there were some hurt feelings along the way.

That includes Cavs team owner Dan Gilbert, who infamously wrote “The Letter” as a response to “The Decision” and sounded a lot like a spurned lover.

Interestingly, Silver’s position in this anecdote holds true to the character he’s displayed as commissioner. Silver isn’t afraid to push the envelope and be inventive, as has been evidenced by the many rule changes in his tenure and attempts at basketball globalization.

Stern, who is one of the main figures responsible for the growth of the NBA, once effectively cancelled a proposed trade that would have brought Chris Paul to the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers. He created the rules that require players to be in business casual attire during team or league activities when they were used to sweatsuits.

They’re like salt and pepper. Equally valuable perhaps but binary opposites.

In this case, it’s hard to say who’s right between Silver and Stern. It is hard to argue against $2.5 million going to charity, though.