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LeBron James says the Cleveland Browns should have drafted Deshaun Watson

Credit: AP
NBA player Lebron James of the Miami Heat throws a football at AT&T Stadium before a Sunday night game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys on September 8, 2013 in Arlington, Texas.

Last month, LeBron James admitted he had some thoughts on the Cleveland Browns that he wasn't prepared to divulge.

On Monday morning, the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar was in a more sharing mood.

Speaking with reporters in New York following his team's shootaround, James was asked about a comment he made on on Saturday in which he stated that the New York Knicks should have selected Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. in last summer's NBA Draft. As he sought to clarify that he wasn't intending to throw shade at the player the Knicks did select, guard Frank Ntilikina, James used the Browns as an example, revealing that he thought his hometown football team should have picked quarterback Deshaun Watson this past spring.

"I think Deshaun Watson should be a Brown," James said. "That doesn't mean that Myles Garrett is not going to be a great football player. Deshaun Watson should have been our quarterback. It's the same thing."

Truth be told, Cleveland could have had both Garrett and Watson. After selecting Garrett with the No. 1 overall pick, the Browns had the opportunity to select Watson with the No. 12 pick they owned from the Philadelphia Eagles. Cleveland, however, opted to trade that pick to the Houston Texans, who selected Watson in the spot instead.

Prior to suffering a torn ACL in practice earlier this month, Watson had been the front-runner to win the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award, amassing 1,699 yards and a league-high 19 touchdowns in seven games. Garrett, meanwhile, has been impressive when on the field in his rookie season, recording 4 sacks in four games -- although that hasn't been enough to stop Cleveland from laying claim to an NFL-worst 0-9 record.

Now in line for the top pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Browns could soon solve their nearly two-decade-long quarterback problem.

According to the biggest star in their city, however, it's something they should have already done last spring.

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