Commentary

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — LeBron James and Carlos Boozer walked off the court during a break from U.S. Olympic basketball practice Monday and sat down next to each other, an event that caused a handful of photographers to mobilize like paparazzi.

You would have thought it was the first public appearance of J-Lo and Ben Affleck since their breakup.

For those hoping for icy stares, cross words or negative body language, the one-time Cavaliers teammates sorely disappointed.

They chatted. They laughed. They smiled. They were not about to let something as minor as Boozer’s stunning and controversial decision to leave the Cavaliers for the riches of the Utah Jazz drive a wedge between them.

“My relationship (with Boozer) has been great,” James said. “It’s just like when he was my teammate. It doesn’t change.”

I’m guessing pistols at sunrise is not an option.

It never is when it comes to pro athletes and their unwillingness to criticize each other for making more money elsewhere. That’s what’s so frustrating and hard to comprehend for the average fan.

“Friendship is deeper than business,” James said.

Jilted Cavaliers faithful were not expecting James to go Tonya Harding on the player perceived as the biggest traitor to Cleveland since Art Modell.

But if James had undercut Boozer on his first drive to the bucket and stood scowling over his writhing frame like Muhammad Ali over Sonny Liston or Chuck Bednarik over Frank Gifford, I don’t think there would have been a moral outcry in Cleveland.

James, even at age 19, has too much class, too much respect for Boozer and too much respect for the code. Pro athletes don’t call out pro athletes for departing for another tax bracket.

USA co-captain Allen Iverson said Tuesday that adult fans often look at pro athletes as “inhuman.” What he means is many fans cannot relate to the financial world of big-time athletes.

If the Boozer scenario unfolds on your slow-pitch softball team — a star player leaves unexpectedly for a rival — outrage prevails. Friendships are compromised. Enough angry words are exchanged to fill an al-Jazeera newscast.

That’s because money is not part of the equation.

We like to think that love of the game and adulation from adoring fans are what spur our heroes. They do, but only to a point. Boozer’s departure is just the latest reminder.

As badly as the Cavaliers’ management mishandled the contract negotiations, part of me still cannot believe Boozer took the money. Why? Because you like to think you know an athlete. You see how unselfishly he plays and assume he would sacrifice in other areas, too.

Wrong. The lure of big money and championship rings for older, more financially secure players are twin forces that fans are powerless to combat.

Look at Karl Malone’s decision to leave Utah for the hated Lakers in a last-ditch bid to win a ring. The Mailman took heat in many circles, but not among peers. They honored the code. Just as they are doing with the player replacing him.

James and fellow Cavaliers must bite their tongues as Boozer talks of wanting to play where his idol, Malone, called home for 18 seasons and insinuates coach Paul Silas never saw him developing into an All-Star.

Spare us the excuses. It’s about the money: $68 million, or over $28 million more than what the Cavaliers were offering.

Boozer said he has no regrets leaving Cleveland, because he’s parting on good terms with teammates. As if they would tell him otherwise. Those closest to James say he was devastated by news of Boozer’s defection even as he remains unwaveringly supportive.

“When it comes down to his family, he’s got to do what’s best for them and I respect that,” James said.

In the “inhuman” world of pro sports, to say anything else could be construed as hypocritical. Because you never know when you will be the one saying goodbye.