A Cleveland local news station took a subtle swipe at Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving for his trade demand. In a new ad for its sports promo, Fox 8 in Cleveland used an old NBA title celebration footage of Irving while a narrator read the script that contains the following message: “You’re either with us or against us. You have to be tough to thrive here. And if you don't want to be part of our story, that's fine. This city belongs to The King. Cleveland's own Fox 8 News. Oh yeah, enjoy the ring.”

The new ad was the latest episode in the ongoing saga involving Irving, who met with Cavaliers team owner Dan Gilbert on July 7 to demand a trade.

Irving told Gilbert that he wants a trade to have a chance to become the No. 1 option in a team’s offense, far from his role as the No. 2 man behind LeBron James in Cleveland.

Irving gave Gilbert a list of his preferred destinations – the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and the New York Knicks. The Spurs, Wolves and the Knicks have already submitted their respective offers for Irving. According to reports, Irving wants to play badly for the Knicks but the trade is being hampered by Carmelo Anthony’s desire to play for the Houston Rockets. The Phoenix Suns, for their part, offered Eric Bledsoe to the Cavaliers for Irving.

Curry mocks James workout video as Irving laughs

The new ad surfaced hours after a video of Golden State Warriors’ point guard Steph Curry mocking James’ workout video at the wedding of former teammate Harrison Barnes.

While Curry imitates James’ moves on his workout video, Irving was seen laughing and egging on the Warriors point guard. James shot the workout video after the Cavaliers lost to the Warriors in five games in the NBA Finals.

Irving, James silent on reported feud

Irving and James haven’t addressed their reported feud publicly but both took a swipe at each other on social media.

After Irving’s trade demand went public, James posted two songs by rapper Meek Mill on his Instagram account with lyrics obviously alluding to Irving. Irving, for his part, believes that James leaked his trade demand to the media.

Days after, Irving posted a video on Snapchat while singing Skylar Grey’s “I’m Coming Home” on his return trip to the United States from China. The video was seen as a subtle shot at James, who used the “I’m coming home” theme when he returned to the Cavaliers in 2014 after leaving them for the Miami Heat in 2010.
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