The Cleveland Cavaliers, fresh off another NBA Finals defeat at the hands of the Warriors, should be focused on retooling a championship-caliber roster with quality players. Instead, they are fielding calls for their second-best player. Kyrie Irving’s stunning trade request shook the NBA to its core and leaves the Cavs scrambling to salvage value for their star point guard. On the outside looking in, the request appears out of the blue. But in reality, this is months in the making.
In an article from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Dave McMenamin, and Brian Windhorst, Irving’s discontent has been known about for months. Kyrie’s unhappiness with his sidekick role was known by the Cavaliers. He has long been disappointed in being “Robin” to LeBron James’ “Batman”, being forced to take a secondary role. This has not materialized to the public largely because former general manager David Griffin was able to calm him down. Instead, Griffin was let go and the front office flux that ultimately would sway Irving to ask for a trade begins. While most teams undergo exit meetings aimed at allowing players and the front office to communicate before summer, the Cavaliers did no such thing.
Communication was apparently much more necessary than first believed. If exit meetings had occurred, Irving may have aired his grievances sooner, giving the Cavs more time to plan how to tackle the problem. Instead, they imploded and left the players in the dark. With no stable front office keeping an open line to the players, they operated separately. The Cavaliers dangled Kyrie’s name in trade talks for Eric Bledsoe and Paul George without consulting him. The disconnect was growing, widening the gap to a point of no return. The Cavaliers attempted to patch up the front office with Chauncey Billups, but he declined the offer. This appeared to be the last straw for Irving.
On July 7th, Irving flew to the Vegas Summer League and met with team owner Dan Gilbert to voice his request. The powder keg exploded, and at a very inopportune time for the Cavaliers. Jimmy Butler and Paul George are no longer not the market. Chris Paul already decided to leave Los Angeles and accept a trade to the Houston Rockets. The free agent market for point guard is dried up, leaving the Cavs to sign Derrick Rose to a league-minimum contract. There will simply not be an option for the Cavs to comparably replace Kyrie Irving this late in the game. While a resolution is yet to be found, Irving requesting a trade is the latest and largest morsel of drama to engulf the Cleveland Cavaliers.
