Last week, it was reported that LeBron James and Kyrie Irving met in Miami. The report was made by Tony Rizzo of ESPN, who said that the two players were in the same room in Florida, but they did not trade haymakers as Stephen A. Smith once suggested. They supposedly had a calm discussion and everything was "very cool." However, the reported meeting did not happen. James and Irving did not meet, according to Stephen A.
Smith, who disputed the report on an episode of "First Take."
Stephen A. Smith speaks out
“No disrespect to my colleague within the company Tony Rizzo, but evidentially he needs to work on his reporting,” Smith said about the report. “Because I didn’t think LeBron would do anything. What I reported was a quote from someone in LeBron James’ camp about what LeBron thought about doing. It was not me, it was them. So he needs to get his facts straight, number one,” Smith continued, referring to Izzo’s report that James got into a fight with Irving.
“Number two, I just got off the phone with folks about an hour ago and they said LeBron James and Kyrie Irving never met at all.
They were both in the city of Miami, but I was told it is quite possible to be in the same city and not see each other.”
When the Irving trade rumors were reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN, it was said that LeBron was blindsided and disappointed by the reports. James has shown his disappointment mainly through Twitter, sending out cryptic tweets that take shots at Kyrie. However, the two are not stirring up the situation any further. James has said that he will allow the front office to handle everything involving Irving.
Cleveland still engaged in trade talks
The Cavaliers have remained engaged in Irving trade talks with several teams, which include the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and San Antonio Spurs.
The asking price hasn’t changed for Cleveland. They still want an established starting player, a young player on a rookie scale contract, and a first-round pick.
Most recent reports suggest that the Cavaliers have targeted Kristaps Porzingis, but the Knicks are not interested at all. The Cavs are also interested in Jamal Murray, Josh Jackson, and Jayson Tatum.
The Irving trade might not happen any time soon at this pace. In fact, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio said that an Irving trade would most likely happen by training camp in late September. At this point, it would be awkward for Cleveland to have Irving on their roster on opening night.