It was widely reported on Friday that veteran guard Iman Shumpert had requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers prior to the trade deadline, and again at the end of this past season.
Since then, the report has been refuted, and now Shumpert has weighed in on the situation by directly singling out Dave McMenamin of ESPN, who was one of the primary sources of the rumors.
The fact that the 27-year-old Cavs guard addressed the rumors himself should diminish the idea that it happened back in February. This has likely become a topic of discussion because Kyrie Irving’s recent trade request came to light a few weeks ago.
Shumpert has spent the last two and a half seasons with the Cavs since being traded from the New York Knicks along with J.R. Smith back in January 2015. Since then, he has played a reliable rotational player for Cleveland, taking up both a role off the bench and in the starting lineup throughout his tenure.
In fact, he inked a four-year, $40 million deal to remain with the team back in July 2015. The desire to leave the situation where he has played in three straight NBA Finals and earned his first NBA title makes the rumors of a possible trade request quite puzzling. Ultimately, Shumpert has cleared up any possible confusion regarding the entire situation.