On Wednesday, several reports surfaced which stated that LeBron James and Kyrie Irving had engaged in a meeting in Miami, Florida. Whether or not the two Cleveland Cavaliers stars had an encounter is still up for debate. However, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith took some time to squash the rumor on Thursday morning’s episode of First Take.
“Two people can be in the same city and not see each other: A.,” Smith said of James and Irving’s alleged meeting. “And B: They did not meet with one another — it never happened.”
As most hoops fans know, Irving requested a trade in a meeting with Cavs ownership in July. Since then, all forms of media have been following the story with a keen eye. Other teams have been watching the situation, too. In fact, as many as 20 squads had interest in Irving at one point.
Irving, now 25 years of age, still has two years remaining on his contract with the Cavs, as team owner Dan Gilbert pointed out during Koby Altman’s introductory press conference in July. Gilbert stated that he expects to see Irving in uniform at the start of training camp, but will that presumption come to fruition?
If there is indeed some kind of rift between Irving and James, a face-to-face meeting certainly wouldn’t hurt. For now, though, it seems this saga will play on.