Just when Jaylon Tyson was finally starting to catch a break on and off the court, he got himself into some muddy waters. His comments on Donovan Mitchell sparked backlash on social media, even though he -- clearly -- didn't mean that.
The second-year pro out of California claimed that Cleveland was Donovan Mitchell's city now. While he was just trying to uplift and hype up his All-Star teammate, some took those comments as a sign of disrespect to LeBron James.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't take long before Tyson cleared the air on his comments and apologized. Now, if we put our tin foil hats on, what if the Cleveland Cavaliers forced him to apologize to smooth things up for a potential reunion with The King?
Jaylon Tyson's comments may have rubbed LeBron James the wrong way
“There was no disrespect there. Bron is one of the greatest players to ever play the game. I was a Cavs fan growing up because of him. If I offended anyone, I’m sorry. I take personal responsibility,” Tyson said.
First and foremost, Tyson's choice of words may have been unfortunate, but his heart was in the right place.
He's been balling lately, and even if he wasn't, there's no excuse for Cavs fans to send him death threats or call him out on social media, much less to defend a player who, even though is the greatest player in franchise history, has been playing for another team for eight years now.
That said, it's not a secret that James' ego is a bit fragile. He has a long history of passive-aggressive comments and jabs, so it wouldn't be shocking to see that he may have taken offense to these comments.
So, if the Cavs indeed intend to bring him back at some point in the future, it makes sense that they would want Tyson to apologize. Tyson has become a pivotal piece of their team, and they wouldn't want to trade a young player on a rookie deal just because he doesn't get along with someone who's on his way out, even if it's LeBron.
Also, it's not like Tyson would be the first young player who's said something about James. Austin Reaves admitted that he was a Kobe Bryant fan growing up, and Kyle Kuzma had some pretty incendiary social media posts about his future teammate. It happens.
Tyson's comments weren't disrespectful, and the whole situation has been blown out of proportion. Still, with all the buzz around James going back home before the trade deadline or in the offseason, the timing couldn't have been any worse.