LeBron James stars in a social media drama of his own making

— -- With the NBA playoffs looming, LeBron James has started to cut down on the outside noise, paring down his social media usage as he heads to total blackout -- what he's called in the past "Zero Dark 23." At least that's what one source said about his recent unfollowing of the Cavaliers' Twitter and Instagram accounts. Just James' way of getting his focus ready heading into the postseason.

Of course, social media might not be such a distraction if he hadn't spent the last month creating drama with cryptic tweets like:

Or the post that began, " It's ok to know you've made a mistake," that he fired off while spending his off days in Miami with old Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade.

Maybe we're all reading too much into his tweets -- and reading them wrong -- but if he didn't want the attention or to start rumors about being unhappy in Cleveland -- if he didn't want everyone talking about where he'll play next season, then he wouldn't stoke the social media fire. James' passive-aggressive tweets are about as transparent as Kim Kardashian's nude selfies -- they both scream: "Look at me! Look at me!"

And it's not just about how James' tweets (not to mention his midseason vacays to see Wade) affect him, but how his teammates will be affected. The questions they'll have to answer from the media while answering their own questions about the future of the team. As @netw3rk suggested on Twitter, "LeBron is a happily married dude who just so happens to keep mentioning his prenup." If you're Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, you're not thinking about the next game; you're thinking about whether James is leaving -- and taking the house, the car and both dogs with him.

If the Cavs star really wanted to get more focused on his Cleveland team and what it hopes is another deep playoff run, then he would keep his words -- online and off -- focused on the Cavs. He wouldn't need coach Tyronn Lue to tell him that skipping halftime warm-ups in favor of chatting with Wade when his Cavs were trailing the Heat by 21 points wasn't good leadership. And he most certainly wouldn't give the quote he did to Bleacher Report's Howard Beck, even if the interview did take place back on Feb. 8. Near the end of Beck's recently released long profile on James and Carmelo Anthony's friendship, came this:

"I really hope that, before our career is over, we can all play together," James said. "At least one, maybe one or two seasons -- me, Melo, D-Wade, CP -- we can get a year in. I would actually take a pay cut to do that."

Maybe at the end of their careers, James said. Maybe sooner.

It's starting to feel like deja vu -- "The Decision" all over again. How many teams, reporters and fans can James whip into a frenzy with hints about where he'll end up next? Never mind that the Cavaliers are the top seed in the East with a very good chance to compete for the NBA championship -- this year and several years in the future. Never mind that he's already put Cleveland through this once. Never mind that he hasn't yet followed up on his promise to win "one for the 'Land."

Anthony was asked about James' comments Wednesday night and said: "I don't know. We've still got years in this league, so we'll see what happens. Everybody dreams sometimes. Everybody has fantasies." But he followed that up with a harsh dose of reality and some comments about sticking things out that might have been made with James in mind. "I came here for a reason, which was to win in New York," Anthony said. "Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case thus far, but I feel like I have unfinished business to take care of. And I feel like, I don't know, maybe it's just me, if I just get up and run away from something that I started, that I feel a part of and that's not done yet, then I think I would carry that burden on my shoulders. That's just me as an individual."

Wade was even more focused on his current team, resisting any temptation to talk about a "dream team" of sorts. "Yeah, I heard it. I read it," Wade said. "I'm not really jumping into the headlines right now. For me, I'm focused on my teammates in here. As cool as the headlines is, that has nothing to do with what we're trying to do in here."

More from Beck on James' team of superstars:

"It would be pretty cool,' James said. 'I've definitely had thoughts about it.' Before bounding away, he smiles and closes with a coy chirp: 'We'll see.'"

But yeah, LeBron, keep telling us that following the Cavs' Twitter was the real distraction.