NEW YORK _ LeBron James wished President-elect Donald Trump well and likened his decision not to stay with the team at Trump SoHo to choosing between chicken and steak.
For the first time in his career, James stayed at a hotel separate from his teammates as a sort of protest against Trump, whom he was sharply critical of in the weeks leading up to the election. Trump no longer owns the SoHo hotel, but it still bears his name.
"I'm not trying to make a statement. It's just my personal preference," James said. "At the end of the day, I hope he's one of the best presidents ever for all of our sake _ my family, for all of us. But it's just my personal preference. It would be the same if I went to a restaurant and decided to eat chicken and not steak."
Nothing else about the gameday routine changed. James and the other teammates still took the bus to the arena for morning shootaround and James was on the first bus to the arena prior to Wednesday's game against the New York Knicks just like always.
The Cavaliers signed a contract with Trump SoHo for this season well before the election and will also return there in February when the Cavs again play at the Knicks. They are not expected to re-sign with any Trump brands after this season. About half the team has joined James at a separate location.
"It's not normal," said coach Tyronn Lue, who is staying at the Trump hotel. "But considering the circumstances, that's what we have. That's not my main objective. My main thing is just trying to get this team to stay on track and playing the right way and trying to get back to playing Cleveland Cavaliers basketball."
