Brian Windhorst recently reported that Kyrie Irving wants to get out of Cleveland. He doesn’t want to live in LeBron James’ shadow any longer. James has said that he will not waive his no-trade clause at any point this season, which means that there’s a realistic chance that Irving gets traded before the season starts.
This adds another ring to the circus that has been going on in Cleveland. Let’s recap all of the frenzy since the Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
David Griffin and Cavaliers part ways
Working for owner Dan Gilbert is apparently not something an executive wants to do these days.
Griffin’s three-year contract expired this year, and he walked away after both sides could not come to an agreement. Between the problems with money and how the team was going to be run, Griffin elected to leave. This move angered James given that the two basically teamed up together to construct this Cavaliers team.
Chauncey Billups turns down general manager job
Billups has been rumored to be a frontrunner to take over as an executive one day. That day didn’t come for the Cavaliers when he was rumored to be the frontrunner for the team. Billups didn’t agree with the terms laid out by none other than the owner Gilbert. Moving his family from Denver didn’t help either, but the Cavaliers struck out again.
James not happy with free agent signings
James watched the Warriors re-sign Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, David West, Zaza Pachulia, and Andre Iguodala. Then, he watched as they signed Nick Young. At the time, the Cavaliers had only signed Kyle Korver. He was reported to be upset with how the Cavaliers were not making enough efforts to make the team better.
Since then, the Cavaliers have signed Jeff Green and Deron Williams. These additions do not make the Cavaliers that much more of a threat to overthrow the Warriors. These decisions have led to frustration for James and have damaged their chances of bringing Carmelo Anthony over in a trade. Anthony doesn't want to commit to the Cavaliers because he feels James might bolt after this year.
Irving requests trade
There have been reports that this has been brewing for a while. Irving has been reported to telling his Olympic teammates not to play in Cleveland. He apparently went and talked to Gilbert as early as July 7th about requesting a trade. He prefers the Timberwolves, Spurs, Heat, and Knicks.
It’s been a circus in Cleveland since the conclusion of the season. All that is missing are the elephants and cotton candy.
