LeBron James is a basketball genius. LeBron James should treat his coach with respect. These two ideas are not mutually exclusive.
Sigmund Freud once said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," which was his way of explaining that not every single thing in life has to have a deeper symbolic meaning or metaphor.
If I asked you what cigars have to do with basketball, your mind's eye would open to a grainy image, perhaps in black and white, perhaps in Celtics green, of Red Auerbach lighting up a stogie to celebrate yet another title for Boston.