The divorce between LeBron James and former partner-in-crime Kyrie Irving was more than meets the eye, as the 25-year-old floor general had already made up his mind after a loss in the 2017 NBA Finals.
Irving requested a trade only a few weeks after the Cleveland Cavaliers had finished the season with a 1-4 loss to the Golden State Warriors and while still unreported, it wasn’t about biting the bullet, but rather trying to keep a shotgun shell from falling into the pit of the Cavs’ stomach.
According to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, this rift between the two megastars was already irreconcilable.
“Bring him to camp,” James told the Cavs. He was confident he could repair whatever damage Irving felt was done to their relationship. But Irving made clear to Gilbert and the Cavaliers he wanted out of Cleveland because he did not want to play another minute with James, one source told The Athletic. Given how close Irving and James were to the ends of their contracts, the Cavs chose to move Irving while they believed he still had peak value.”
The Cavs have been trying to make due with the remnants from that package — a hobbled Isaiah Thomas still getting into shape after missing the first half of the season after a season-ending hip surgery and a fringe player in Jae Crowder, who has failed to live up to the expectations thus far.
Irving choosing to carve his own path has had major consequences in The Land, painting the picture that perhaps playing alongside James isn’t always the basketball nirvana everyone expected it to be.