Kyrie Irving's trade request has caused many reactions and even some former NBA players have given their thoughts about it. While some people support Irving and his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, others say it's a bad move and that he should be grateful to be on a championship-contending team. The Cavaliers are still trying to figure out what to do and what team to trade him to, and Irving is still getting a lot of reactions from fans and players.
Ron Harper, who played for the Cavaliers from 1986 to 1989, is not a big fan of the point guard's decision.
Harper blamed Irving's decision on his youth and he compared it to the era of basketball he played in. Undoubtedly, things were different back then, but it might be a bit unfair to criticize Irving for simply wanting something different.
Ron Harper doesn't support Kyrie Irving's decision
Harper isn't too happy about Irving's trade demand. He spent 15 seasons in the NBA and he definitely saw a lot of things, so from his perspective, the All-Star point guard is not doing the right thing.
"It's not a guarantee that the Cavaliers are going to trade him to a good team," Harper commented. "I asked a guy, 'What happened to the old-school days?' When a guy asked to get traded, you traded him to the sorriest team.
That's the way it worked."
For Irving, it most likely doesn't matter what team he gets traded to, as long as he's the first option. After all, he is already on a great team and he is not happy. Irving may pick "the sorriest team" over the Cavaliers if it meant that he will be the focal point of it.
The former guard also blamed Irving's decision on his youth.
Irving and Harper
While Irving is relatively young, he's been in the league for six years and he's been on a bad team as well as on a championship team. In his first three years in the league, the Cavaliers won 78 games combined. They were a lottery team every year before LeBron James came back and turned them into championship contenders once again.
Ron Harper had a similar career as he was the first option on the team in his early years with the Cavaliers. In his rookie season, Harper averaged 22.9 points per game and he took nearly 20 shots on average. Later in his career, Harper took a backseat to Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan in Chicago. While he was no longer the first option on the team, he gained a lot of success in the postseason and ended his career with five championship rings.
Winning a championship is an amazing feat and Harper appreciates it, but blaming Irving for choosing something else is not really fair. After all, Irving would like to carry a team to a championship, and not be carried.
