Kyrie Irving Resented LeBron, Other Cavs Months Before His Trade Request
New reports suggest that Kyrie Irving’s dissatisfaction with the team was there months before his request and that he resented other members of the team, not only LeBron James. Irving, reportedly tired of being in James’ shadow, has requested to be traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
ESPN NBA insider Dave McMenamin said that according to Irving’s former teammate, James Jones, Irving avoided the team for days during the early days of the playoffs, New York Post reported. During the first round against the Indiana Pacers and the second round against the Toronto Raptors, Irving reportedly did not speak to any teammate for days.
Kyrie also had several talks with former Cavs GM David Griffin over the past year to address Irving’s unhappiness with the Cavaliers. The Cavs had been concerned over Irving’s mindset in the past few months, knowing that he has grown unhappy over playing a secondary role, according to ESPN.
Irving had a sit-down talk with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert last month and requested to be traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat or New York Knicks. No deals are certain yet, as the Cavaliers reportedly wants to get a player who can equal what Irving brings to the team or someone who can be greater than him. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Cavs hope they could still work things out with the 25-year-old point guard and have him stay in the camp.
Kyrie Irving reportedly didn't speak to his teammates for "consecutive days" during the playoffs https://t.co/SITiXaujMw pic.twitter.com/Ys9XLfnRJU
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) August 10, 2017
The only proposed deal that came close to actually happening is that with the Phoenix Suns, although the NBA team was not included in Irving’s preference. However, because the Suns did not want to include Josh Jackson, things fell apart, as reported by CBS Sports. There is still hope that the Cavs and the Suns would resume possible trade talks, given that there are only two months left before a new season of NBA begins. But Jackson thinks he would not be part of it.
“I think if that was going to happen, it would have happened by now,” Jackson told Sirius XM’s NBA Radio. Jackson ranked No. 4 in the overall picks in the 2017 NBA Draft.
John Wall plays pickup against Kyrie Irving, works out with LeBron James in Miami https://t.co/mYf1grNash
— Post Sports (@PostSports) August 15, 2017
According to Newsweek, about 20 teams expressed interest in having Irving. However, the real struggle comes in terms of the amount of risk they are willing to give up in exchange for Irving. Trading for the all-star point guard would involve a combination of assets. At this stage, it is possible that Kyrie Irving will still be with the Cavs when the new season begins.
[Featured Image by Ross D. Franklin/AP Images]
