This would be a serious issue if the two men couldn’t co-exist, but Irving appeared comfortable late last season playing off the ball at times, so you really never know.
The Cavs have one of the top records in the NBA — yet can be labeled dysfunctional and a mess according to the standards set by LeBron James.
According to Chris Mannix of The Vertical — via “multiple coaches and scouts” — there’s an “alarming discord” between Irving and James — with one scout described their chemistry as “basically nonexistent.”
Irving remains a dynamic scorer, but the disconnect between Irving and James is real, several scouts and coaches told The Vertical, with the on-court chemistry between the two, said one scout who saw Cleveland play recently, “basically nonexistent.” Team sources insist the relationship is solid, that James is simply teaching, trying to raise Irving’s basketball IQ. No one understands Irving’s importance more than James, team sources told The Vertical, which is why no one is working harder than James to get the two All-Stars on the same page.
James and Irving aren’t best-buddies like the King and Wade — so we can quit with the idea that the Cavs star duo will incorporate crazy no-look lobs and synergy on a nightly basis.