Split With the Cleveland Cavaliers 'Inevitable' Says Kyrie Irving
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been playing really well lately after they struggled out of the gate this season, but there are still some who think they should have tried to find a way to keep All-Star guard Kyrie Irving instead of shipping him to Boston.
Well, convincing him to stay probably wouldn't have worked because Irving seemed to feel that the Cavaliers didn't want him there, and he thought his exit was "inevitable," per ESPN's Jackie MacMullan.
MacMullan's sources also confirmed that the Cavaliers started shopping Irving after their defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 National Basketball Association (NBA) finals, and this move "stung" the four-time All-Star.
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According to the report, the Cavaliers would have received athletic guard Eric Bledsoe and All-Star wing Paul George in a three-team trade with the Phoenix Suns and the Indiana Pacers, but the deal fell apart because the Suns were unwilling to give up their draft pick.
When Irving heard of the potential deal, he became convinced that LeBron James' camp was behind the talks because the 13-time All-Star's agent, Rich Paul, also happens to represent Bledsoe. That soured his relationship with the organization.
Of course, team officials denied James and his agent were involved, but former general manager David Griffin knew Irving would eventually request for a trade – and the All-Star guard did just that. Unfortunately, the details of his conversation with Griffin leaked a few weeks after and Irving wasn't happy about it.
"I thought there would be a sense of confidentiality on everyone's part. I'm not going to point fingers, even though I know fingers will get pointed anyway, but the way it happened was disappointing. It was hurtful how it spun out. It turned into a narrative where everyone got to have an opinion on why I should do this, why I should do that. I'm this. I'm that. I'm selfish. That's fine because that's not reality. It was just a bunch of noise," Irving told MacMullan.
So could the Cavaliers have repaired their relationship with Irving?
By then, it was probably too late.
