Coaching LeBron James is a fruitless exercise. Success isn't sweet. It's expected. Dru Joyce II was supposed to win the mythical high school national championship with little ol' St. Vincent-St. Mary's in Akron, Ohio because he had LeBron James. Mike Krzyzewski had to win the gold medal in Beijing. He had LBJ.

Mike Brown was supposed to lead the Cavaliers to The Finals in just his second season as head coach -- and he had better get them back there this year -- because he has royalty, King James, on his side.

One coach never got the chance to ride the James train to victory, though. Paul Silas played in the NBA for 16 seasons, winning three championships with Boston and Seattle. Known as a staunch defender, Silas brought a no-nonsense approach to the sidelines where he was a head coach for nine seasons with the Clippers, Hornets and Cavaliers.

Silas was a victim of timing when it came to his stint with James. He got him after Joyce, when LeBron was making the transition from big fish in a little pond (OK, more like humungous fish) to big fish in a well-lit tank full of other big fish.

As a rookie, James was still playing the game he did in high school -- relying on his speed and strength to get him where he needed to go. James shot just 41.7 percent (29 percent from three) as a rookie. Cleveland finished 35-47, actually a respectable record for a Cavs team that had just 17 wins the year before and was relying on Jeff McInnis, Lee Nailon, Ira Newble and Kevin Ollie as key contributors.

In 2004-05, James' second season, the Cavaliers had a 34-30 record when Silas was fired.

NBA.com caught up with Silas on the phone from his home in North Carolina to talk about James and the Playoffs.

NBA.com: James is having a fantastic year any way you slice it, but I want to ask you what were your initial impressions of him when he first came into the league and you were his coach. Do you remember the first time you saw him play?

Paul Silas: Yeah, I saw him at the McDonald's All-American Game. That was the first time I saw him. Of course he had big talent. At that time his shooting was a little suspect, but he went to the hoop very well, he passed, he could rebound and he could bring the ball up the court. That's what I had him doing because we didn't have a point guard initially that I was satisfied with, so I made him sort of my point forward. He did that until we got McInnis and then he went to his natural position. I think that helped him. I think initially having been forced to really set the ball up and get everybody involved really helped him understand all the aspects of the game. He did it very well. LeBron never complained about the situation I put him in, he just did it and I think he was better off for it.

NBA.com: Off the court he signed endorsement deals worth nearly $100 million before he even played a minute in the league. He was only 18 years old. What impressed you the most with the way he carried himself as a rookie?

PS: It was interesting because he was, one, a very smart guy and he was really experienced beyond his years and the way he carried himself you would have thought he was a lot older than he was. The only thing that showed some inexperience was where guys would go out together at night and that sort of thing and he would go by himself. He would get a little sad and I would have to bring him out of that. I told him there's always going to be people coming at him because he put himself in the position where he is going to be a star. He wasn't a star, so to speak, at that time but he was going to be one and he was going to have to deal with those kinds of problems. I think it helped him because he was able to step out of the doldrums, so to speak and pick himself up and deal with those kinds of problems and issues.

NBA.com: Did you ever have to discipline him? Was he ever late to practice?

PS: He never was late or anything like that. He was always one of the first ones there and the last ones to leave. He really worked on his game. Like anything else, during the practice or a course of a game I called all of them out, him included, when he wasn't playing as hard as I thought he could or whatever. I made no differences with him and anybody else. I think I treated him as fairly as anybody.

NBA.com: After that first game when he scored 25 points against Sacramento, was your cell phone blowing up with former teammates and guys around the league saying, "Wow, he's as good as advertised"?

PS: I thought he had a great opening game. I think it kind of surprised everybody that he was able to do the things that he did and still get everybody involved because again, I had him at the point forward. He scored, he defended, he assisted, he did everything and I think that's what kind of amazed everybody. But that didn't amaze us because we had been through a training camp, we had been through the preseason and played some games so we knew what he could do. I was just happy for him that he had such a good game because that was the beginning of him showing everybody the kind of star that he was going to be.

NBA.com: You mentioned defense. A lot of people think that's the biggest leap he's made, with his chase-down blocks and not taking possessions off like he might have done in the past. Do you notice that part of this game?

PS: I have noticed that because before, he did not take the challenge defensively that much. I think he kind of took a page out of Kobe [Bryant]'s book, where Kobe plays the toughest offensive player on the opposing team. I noticed that LeBron started doing that. I think for him to be the leader that he wants to be, he had to do that because everybody follows him. If he's not playing defense as well as he should, nobody else is going to, either. So I really admired that about him. He took that challenge of playing defense against the toughest opponent and I think there's something to be said for it.

NBA.com: You had a winning record in your second year with the Cavs when you were let go. Do you ever look back wistfully saying, "Man, if I could have only stuck around, I'd still be coaching LeBron James, one of the best players of this generation"?

PS: I don't look at it that way. What's meant for you, you're going to have. That's how I look at that. It just wasn't meant to be. They had new owners come in, they wanted their own people and that's just the way it goes. It remains to be seen how things are going to work out. A championship is still within their reach, but it's going to be tough to get through Boston and L.A. So we'll have to see how that plays out.

NBA.com: I know there is still a lot of his career to be played, but looking at LeBron vs. guys you played with or guys you coached against, where do you think he'll end up?

PS: Barring injuries, he's going to be one of the top players ever. The thing that I had never seen ... I'd never seen a player as big as he was that could run, that could jump, that had the agility, the balance -- all the things that small players had, he had at his size. When I had him he was like 235. I think they're telling me he's like 260 now. So, to do the things he can do just amazes me. What I really like about him is that he has learned. He has grown as a player. He understands what the game is all about now. The first two years that I had him were a growing experience for him. But he's there. He's there now. He's doing things that only the great ones do. When you compare anybody to Oscar Robertson, that's a great comparison, and he's been put into that category. He's going to be one of the greats of all time.