The Cavs are falling apart because of Dan Gilbert.
We all know LeBron will likely be exiting the door at season’s end but could Kyrie beat him to the punch?
In a “peculiar” Cavs offseason, Kyrie has requested a trade from Cleveland according to ESPN.
Kyrie Irving is ready to end his run with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as league sources told ESPN that the guard has asked the team to trade him. The request came last week and was made to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Irving has expressed that he wants to go play in a situation where he can be a more focal point and no longer wants to play alongside LeBron James, sources said.
Irving’s agent Jeff Wechsler would not confirm or deny whether Irving asked for a trade.
“Kyrie and I had a meeting with Cavs leadership where we discussed many different scenarios in reference to Kyrie and his future with the team,” Wechsler told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “The basis of those discussions and what went on in those discussions are between the Cavs and us. We are respectfully going to keep those private.”The Cavaliers parted with general manager David Griffin last month after they couldn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension. Cleveland has yet to name Griffin’s replacement, and franchise centerpiece LeBron James has reportedly expressed concern about the team’s direction.
James was informed of Irving’s request and was blindsided and disappointed, sources said. Other members of the team have learned of Irving’s intentions in recent days as well. News of the request comes days after Irving told Sports Illustrated that the Cavaliers were in a “peculiar” place this offseason.”I understand we’re in a very peculiar place,” Irving told the magazine. “We just have to, you know, make sure that all our pieces are aligned first, and then we go from there. It’s the summertime, a lot of craziness going on in the NBA.”
Kyrie has 3 years and $60 million remaining on his current deal. An interesting wrinkle in all of this is Irving would be bypassing any chance at a “supermax” should the Cavs deal him away. The entire situation is toxic in Cleveland. Perhaps LeBron was onto something with his Kardashian curse fears.
Kyrie has very little leverage however keeping him on the Cavs will make for an icy and awkward locker room dynamic. The one positive for the Cavs should they entertain trade offers is teams will probably be more prone to dealing a substantial amount since he’s under long term control.
After firing respected General Manager David Griffin, Cleveland’s only offseason additions may come in the form of Derrick Rose on a minimum contract. As disappointed as LeBron may be, most of us have him bouncing the second the 2018 season is complete. In that scenario, Kyrie will be stuck on a capped out Cavs team with Kevin Love and Dan Gilbert pulling the strings.
Cleveland fans should be mad at Dan Gilbert for ruining the gravy train the Cavs were on, LeBron delivered a title so things could be worse.