Longtime friend and former high school teammate of NBA superstar LeBron James, Brandon Weems was recently promoted to the position of general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Shams Charania of ESPN was the first to announce the news of the Cavaliers’ latest front office decision.
“The Cleveland Cavaliers are promoting executive Brandon Weems to General Manager under President Koby Altman, sources tell ESPN. Weems has been in the Cavaliers organization for the last decade, rising through scouting and personnel roles before becoming assistant GM in 2022, and now GM,” the insider wrote in a post on X.
LeBron James Reaction To Cavaliers News
Shortly after, James, who is now a member of the Philadelphia 76ers but was linked to a move back to Cleveland in free agency earlier this summer, was quick in his reaction to the news.
In a post on X, James offered his congratulations and said he was proud of his longtime friend for the high-level promotion on his old team.
“YESSIR!!!! Congratulations my brother @BrandonWeems10!! Proud of you man,” the NBA’s all-time leading scorer wrote.
Just hours after the news, James’ post has already garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
The two have known each other since their high school days, and according to the players’ high-profile agent, Rich Paul, Weems made an attempt to bring the star back to the Cavaliers during his free agency earlier in the offseason.
“Big, big, big X-Factor, let me talk to you about Brandon Weems. Brandon Weems is basically LeBron’s brother… that is a big feather in the cap,” Paul said of Weems this summer.
Regardless, James chose elsewhere, opting to not join his friend back in Cleveland.
Cleveland Pivoted After Missing Out On Superstar
As mentioned, there were heavy rumors about James returning to the Cavaliers, the team he won the 2016 NBA Finals with and has spent a collective 11 years of his career playing for.
However, while his free agency decision came down to Cleveland, the Golden State Warriors, and seemingly the Minnesota Timberwolves as well, he made the somewhat surprising choice to join the 76ers.
With that, the Cavaliers were forced to pivot.
They re-signed James Harden on a three-year deal and kept together the core of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.
The franchise also made the splash sign-and-trade for Peyton Watson, formerly of the Denver Nuggets, who is taking the open small forward position that was expected to be given to James if he decided to go back home.
Watson will sign a new four-year, $88
Now, led by Weems in the front office, the Cavaliers continue to be one of the top title contenders in the Eastern Conference. This group has yet to get over the hump, as they lost to the eventual champion New York Knicks in the conference finals, but there remains hope this is the core that can reach the peak of the NBA.
Having James on the roster would have helped, but Cleveland is still in a solid position going forward and now has a new general manager as they enter the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season with title aspirations.
LeBron James Makes Heartfelt Post Reacting To Latest Cavaliers News