Kyrie Irving continues to carry the NBA’s need for offseason content like LeBron has carried him for much of his career. New information about Irving’s ever growing desire to leave the Cavaliers continues to leak out of Cleveland at a rapid pace. The newest comes from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on the BBall Breakdown podcast and it is not pretty (Transcribed by SLAM).
“Would Phoenix offer Eric Bledsoe, Josh Jackson and a pick for Kyrie?”
McMenamin: “I’m not sure. Phoenix, of course, hired James Jones this offseason. He’s been inside that locker room.
“He saw Kyrie Irving in the playoffs this year—in between the first round when they beat Indiana and the second round when they played Toronto—go consecutive days without speaking to a teammate at practice. On that stage.
“It’s one thing for people to go through your ups and downs during the regular season. But when you get to the playoffs, the main thing is the main thing, and we’re brothers, and we’re pulling together to get this thing done.
“Even at that level, there were things that made him sullen or reclusive from his teammates.”
It is staggering how quickly this relationship fell apart and more understandable why the break-up now feels inevitable. You can listen to the complete conversation below.
