In a rare comment from the Cleveland Cavalier's former general manager David Griffin, he said Kyrie Irving's decision to be traded reflects his courage and honesty towards the team. He also came to the athlete's defense of Ron Harper's comment that it was "youth and ignorance" that encouraged the request. For Griffin, the fact that Irving privately went to see Cavs owner Dan Gilbert to discuss his intentions is a very responsible thing to do. He was honest and did not bring the team down by pretending to be with them when he's actually not.
David Griffin on Kyrie Irving
According to Yahoo Sports, Griffin said, "Most guys don’t have the courage to do what he did. That’s not youth and ignorance. That’s a little bit more courage than people give him credit for." Irving, who has been a Cavalier all his life should also be credited for recruiting LeBron James back in the team. But it's also different when someone outshines' you when you know, you have all the potential to build a championship team as well. The reason for Irving's request has not been secret and that's why the Cavs franchise is working on making sure, wherever Kyrie ends up, he will thrive.
Cleveland Cavaliers under David Griffin
David Griffin served as the Cavs general manager from 2014 until June 2017, three days prior to the start of the NBA draft.
As an integral part of the team for the last three years, he said Irving is also confident that he can be a better player playing for another team. While there have been several teams who were a perfect fit for the trade, Griffin is surprised the Boston Celtics are were even mentioned.
Unfortunately for Kyrie, he remained a star player under the shadows of LeBron James.
With the latter filling most of the team's inconsistencies, bridging gaps between players and becoming the leader that he is, Irving feels like he can do the same if given equal chance and now, he's ready to prove just that, but in another team. All throughout the ordeal, both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving remained silent, but obviously feeling the tension of an unfinished trade.
The fallout from Kyrie's New York Knicks deal fell on the hands of Carmelo Anthony who currently has a no-trade deal with the franchise. Apparently, he is not a willing player to join the trade and Anthony made it clear that he only wants to be traded to the Houston Rockets; a seemingly big win for James Harden but a systematic loss to both the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. As of writing, Kyrie has not given any statement or update regarding his trade request.
