Showing his leadership quality, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving berated a teammate for turning the ball over during a pickup game in his home state of New Jersey. According to a video posted by Sports Illustrated on Twitter, Irving criticized a teammate after he was whistled for a backcourt violation. The Cavaliers All-Star point guard was infuriated as his teammate did not show any remorse for his error. “Bro, stop turning the ball over,” Irving told his teammate. “I’m not rewarding that. I’m not rewarding negative behavior.” A teammate reminded Irving that the game wasn’t real but the latter did not accept the excuse.
Kyrie hooped in his home state of New Jersey this weekend and wasn't a fan of his teammate turning the ball over
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 6, 2017
(via delsontraining/IG) pic.twitter.com/FxkqyWPaNa
Last July 7, Irving demanded a trade from the Cavaliers, saying he wanted to be the leader of a team, away from the enormous shadow of LeBron James. He also mentioned four teams – the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Miami Heat – as possible trade destinations.
Several teams have already expressed interest in trading for Irving, including the Phoenix Suns and the Detroit Pistons. The Suns were reportedly offering Eric Bledsoe, Dragan Bender, and a 2018 first-round pick for Irving.
The Pistons also joined the chase for Irving as they met with the Cavs to explore trade possibilities.
James released another video
Days before Irving’s video surfaced, James posted another shirtless workout video on Twitter while nodding his head and belting out lyrics from Meek Mill’s songs “Never Lose” and “1942 Flows” from his latest album “Wins and Losses."
"They wanna see me fall"
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 4, 2017
LeBron laughing at his critics 👀 pic.twitter.com/bh4ZgGYx88
He captioned the video with the words “they wanna see me fail." In June, James posted his first workout video, dubbed the “LeBron James Challenge” after the Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in five games.
Recently, Stephen Curry created controversy after he was shown imitating James’ video during Harrison Barnes’ wedding last weekend. While Curry was imitating James’ dance, Irving was seen laughing in the background.
Curry said he’s fan of James’ workout video
In an interview with Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, Curry said the video wasn’t meant to disrespect James, adding that he’s just memorizing the Cavs star’s viral moves.
The Warriors star said he’s been watching that video twice a day since James posted it, adding that “it’s my favorite video in the entire world." Curry also said dancing alongside Irving wasn’t aimed at James, explaining that “neither of us was trying to clown him."