When news recently surfaced that Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving made the request to be moved out of Cleveland and LeBron’s shadow, he continued what has become a major trend this summer. Irving is now the third superstar just this offseason to voice displeasure with his current situation and ask for a trade, the other two being Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.
While George was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Anthony remains in New York for what seems like not much longer, it’ll be intriguing to see how Irving’s situation plays out. Now with a severely damaged relationship coming to light between Irving and the Cavs, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reports that a trade is imminent and calls an eventual deal ‘almost inevitable’:
The Cavaliers are projecting confidence they can snare a king’s ransom for Kyrie Irving, and more than that, they are acting — for now — as if a trade is almost inevitable, and that there is little chance of salvaging their relationship with him, according to several sources familiar with the situation.
Things can always change, particularly if Irving initiates a meeting with James to hash things out, but that is the mood around these tense talks now.
It’s been made perfectly clear Irving wants to be the man on his own team instead of playing sidekick to the greatest player on earth in LeBron James and it seems the Cavs don’t have much of a choice other than to grant his wish.
These recent trade talks have likely done irreplaceable damage between Irving and the only franchise he has ever played for, putting his return this season in major jeopardy.
Irving has already mentioned his preferred destinations but he has no leverage or say in what team he gets dealt to. With rumors continuing to ramp up, all signs point to Kyrie Irving wearing a different uniform come the start of next season.
