A high school teammate and childhood friend of LeBron James is now an NBA general manager.
Brandon Weems has been promoted to general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers after rising through the organization's front office over the past decade, according to multiple reports on Friday, Sept. 18. He'd been an assistant general manager for the franchise since 2022.
Weems played basketball with James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. James' agent, Rich Paul, described Weems as "basically like LeBron's brother" during a podcast appearance as James was deciding on a new team this offseason. His presence in Cleveland was seen as a positive recruiting tool for the Cavaliers.
In an odd twist, Weems is replacing one of the men who helped
persuade James to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in July over the Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and others. Weems is filling the vacancy left by Mike Gansey, who is now the 76ers' president of basketball operations.
Weems, 40, played college basketball at Walsh University in Ohio and then had jobs for the men's basketball programs at Oakland University, Drexel and Kentucky, where he worked under John Calipari. Weems began working for the Cavaliers as a scout in 2015, according to the Akron Beacon-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James' childhood friend, HS teammate promoted to Cavaliers GM
