LeBron James excluded Andrew Wiggins from Coming Home letter on purpose

Feb 24, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (left) looks over at Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (right) as Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott (center) looks on during the second half at the American Airlines Arena. MIami won 109-105. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

One portion of LeBron James’ letter that announced he was returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason stuck out to many. James talked about his excitement in mentoring Cleveland’s younger players and there was no mention of the youngest then-Cavs player of all, Andrew Wiggins.

James wrote:

"I see myself as a mentor now and I’m excited to lead some of these talented young guys. I think I can help Kyrie Irving become one of the best point guards in our league. I think I can help elevate Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters."

Many assumed LeBron left Wiggins out on purpose because he knew the Cavs would be trading to the 2014 NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall pick for a superstar, such as Kevin Love.

Now that the Cavs have traded for Love and Wiggins is a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s pretty evident that such speculation about LeBron’s exclusion of Wiggins in the letter was spot on.

Love revealed today in his introductory press conference with the Cavs that James called him the day his letter went live.

Kevin Love said LeBron James called him right after signing with CLE. So, yeah Andrew Wiggins, you were left out of The Letter for a reason
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) August 26, 2014

In retrospect, this was a no-brainer. There’s simply no way James could have forgotten about Wiggins when writing the letter that he knew would probably be the most-read sports piece of the year. James knew he wanted Love and knew the Cavs would have get to rid of Wiggins to get Love, so he wrote his letter accordingly and immediately called the big man to pitch him on Cleveland.

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