‘Earned 2 not given!’ James wrote on a post that showed Gottlieb and Green Bay with a 2-24 record. ‘Gotta give him credit though!
Gottlieb, who hosts ‘The Doug Gottlieb Show’ on Fox while coaching at Green Bay, responded to James’ comments in his latest radio appearance.
“I don’t think it speaks well for somebody who — like, don’t you have the day off?” Gottlieb said of James. “Don’t you have better things to do? My response is: Colin [Cowherd] told me a long time ago, ‘Don’t punch down. Always punch up.’ So me talking trash to him would technically be punching up. And him, it’s punching down. So I don’t know. I guess pettiness and insecurity aren’t limited to just people who aren’t super successful in their field. I guess that would be my response.
“It just doesn’t make any sense. Why on a Presidents’ Day Monday, when you have the day off, are you worried about me? I’m not really sure.”
Gottlieb later said: ‘“I don’t even know what I’m responding to other than LeBron talking ish to me. Why? Because I didn’t think Bronny should be a McDonald’s All-American? Or should have been an NBA draft pick? OK. That’s my job, to give a sports opinion.”
James clowning Gottlieb doesn’t come from nowhere, as Gottlieb has been a stark critic of James and his son, Bronny James, who has bounced between the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA and G-League teams this season as a rookie.
Gottlieb has called James a ‘bad basketball parent’ in the past. He also said he wasn’t sure Bronny James would start for Green Bay, and that the 20-year-old guard wouldn’t play point guard, either.
Both sides seem to have decent points, but it doesn’t diminish the fact Gottlieb’s first season as a coach has gone poorly. Green Bay won its first conference game of the season 79-68 over Wright State on Saturday to improve to 3-24 on the season.