LeBron did not seem to impede Kyrie’s development and, if anything, tried to push him to be a better passer. And I’m not sure LeBron has ever played with a pure point guard on Garland’s level outside of the Olympics and frankly I’d love to see it.
I would say what LeBron playing alongside Kyrie is absolute best example of James fitting in with another elite player. Frankly, I thought LBJ-Ky fit together offensively better than LBJ-Wade ever did. Now, LBJ-Wade were able to overcome it to some extent because they were just
that great, but then again, those teams probably should have won a title every year they were together in their primes considering that was pre-Super Team era and no one even came close to their level of talent.
I honestly wouldn't be that worried about Garland. DG is as lethal as an off-ball dynamo coming around screens and running the offense, not necessarily as the initiator all the time, but as the first or second pass into a set. They could actually be an incredible pairing considering the collective basketball IQ.
I'd be more concerned about Mobley's growth. LeBron really likes to operate from the high block as a kind of point-PF. That is an area of the floor I really want to see Mobley take control of and Mobley has some natural secondary playmaking instincts I'd love to explore. Since he and LBJ occupy similar areas of the floor, does it stunt Mobley's growth? Move him somewhere else where he's not as comfortable and/or doesn't fit in as well with this core?
We saw it with prime Kevin Love, who was a phenomenal player. We can say what we want about how his attributes helped the Cavs more than his stats showed and I'll stand by that, but there's no doubt his natural instincts on the floor were blunted and he had to search in order to carve out a role next to LeBron. It didn't come naturally.
Chris Bosh, same thing on offense.
So it's easy to get consumed with who has the ball and whether or not LeBron and Garland will get in each other's way... our bigs worry me more.