LeBron James found himself at the center of a controversy earlier this month, following his comments about the New York Knicks being better off if they drafted Dennis Smith Jr. instead of Frank Ntilikina. As a result, some Knicks players fired back at the former four-time MVP, letting him know that they are more than happy to have the French rookie in their fold.

The back-and-forth did not end there, as when the teams met, a verbal altercation happened on the court when Enes Kanter stood up for Ntilikina after he was bumped by James.

Now, a new peacemaker has stepped in to try and calm down both sides, and avoid the situation to further escalate. The Cleveland Cavaliers star forward's childhood friend and high school teammate, Romeo Travis, recently reached out to him to let him know that Ntilikina is “his guy,” and that he doesn't want things to get out of hand.

He also shared, via Marc Berman of the New York Post, that he knows James didn't mean anything personal, as he is just impressed with how Smith has been playing so far.

“I reached out to LeBron to make sure there was no hard feelings between Frank and him and let him know Frank was my guy,” Travis said. “[LeBron] said it’s not personal between them. He’s just so positive about Dennis Smith and negative toward the Knicks front office.”

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Travis and Ntilikina were teammates during their time in the French League, and formed a strong bond. Despite not with the same team anymore, they remain friends, and follow each other's careers. Travis continues to play professional basketball up to this day, and has had a journeyman career, having played in a number of countries around the world.

With the Cavs and Knicks still scheduled to meet twice in the regular season, it will be interesting to see if Travis' efforts will have an effect on how the two conduct themselves on the court. However, the games will most likely still draw a lot of interest from the fans, as it would be hotly contested, with both players wanting to have the last say about the issue.