The NBA world was rocked Friday when ESPN reported that Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Kyrie Irving -- a franchise cornerstone and the club's second-best player -- had requested a trade. It was a stunner because LeBron James and the Cavs have made three straight Finals appearances, with no end to their run in sight.
Yet here we are. A month after Jimmy Butler reportedly was warned by a Cavs player to avoid Cleveland (Butler and Irving are close friends) and GM David Griffin was let go, Irving reportedly wants out. It's rumored that Irving wants to be a No. 1 option, which won't happen with James on the same roster. There are further indications Irving is not crazy about sharing the floor with James, period. While it's also plausible Irving may want to get out of Cleveland before James potentially bolts in free agency next summer, a look at Irving's history related to James reveals some of his thought process.
Let's examine that relationship.
The Kid and The Chosen One
2009: A 17-year-old Irving visits James' Nike camp. The buzz puts him on a path to being the No. 1 pick in 2011. Irving would attend James' camp the three years before his freshman (and only) season at Duke.
2011: James, while playing for the Miami Heat, suggests Irving would be a great fit for the Cavs at No. 1 overall.
"If the Cavs pick him it'll be a great pick for them," James said. "He's a true point guard who can score, in this day and age in the NBA it is a point guards' league. If they decided to take him, which it looks like, they'll have a good one."
James said he knows that Irving will have certain expectations of him because of the situation he may be coming into, helping step into the shoes that James left as the Cavs' last No. 1 overall pick in 2003. He said Irving shouldn't face the same pressure.
"If it's Kyrie, I don't think you automatically place the franchise tag on him, but he's good enough where, if he continues to work hard, he could be that guy for that team," James said. "It's a tough situation for anyone to be given the franchise tag coming out of college, but I think he's one of the kids who is up for the challenge."
via 2011 NBA Draft: LeBron James happy for Cleveland Cavaliers
2012: James talks about Irving's sensational start, and is described as a mentor to Irving in an ESPN piece by longtime James scribe Brian Windhorst:
Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 pick in last year's draft, and Tristan Thompson, the No. 4 pick, both have long relationships with James and consider him a mentor.
Irving is off to a fantastic start to his career, an early front-runner to win the Rookie of the Year Award, like James did for the Cavs back in 2003-04, and has been getting advice on dealing with life in the NBA from the man he is essentially replacing. James has been watching and doing plenty of encouraging.
"We talk a lot; I've been knowing Kyrie since he was a ninth grader and it's been great to see him continue to get better over the years and do the things he's doing in Cleveland right now," James said. "He's been playing great. He's been showing why he's the No. 1 pick in the draft. Cleveland got a great pick."
via LeBron 'like a brother' to Cleveland rookies - Miami Heat Index- ESPN.
Irving also says he feels no pressure to be "like LeBron."
"Honestly, there's nothing to juggle for me personally," Irving said. "I wasn't really worried about filling LeBron's shoes or filling that void. I was worried about being the best rookie I could be. I set my own goals and on that goal list was never 'be like LeBron.'"
2013: Speaking to a youngster at a Cleveland summer camp, Irving says, "No, I'm not," when the child asks if he is going to leave "like LeBron James" did:
James praises Irving when he secures the All-Star Weekend Rising Stars MVP and wins the 3-point contest:
"He's unbelievable," James said about Irving's coronation as the new king of Cleveland. "He'll be (among) the top two, top three best point guards in the league. He's headed there already.
"He's doing some great things right now. They should be excited about having him in Cleveland."
via Kyrie Irving takes LeBron James' role as Cleveland king.
What it means: The impression was that James and Irving had a relationship, and James was a mentor. But there actually was very little evidence of a relationship beyond Irving attending James' camp -- along with a lot of other talented kids -- and various mentions of James praising Irving. Perhaps there was no real relationship between these two from the beginning.
The Return
2014: In the famous letter trumpeting his return to Cleveland, James mentions Irving first among teammates he wants to lead:
I see myself as a mentor now and I'm excited to lead some of these talented young guys. I think I can help Kyrie Irving become one of the best point guards in our league.
via LeBron James announces return to Cleveland Cavaliers | SI.com.
At training camp, Irving is asked about a comment from James that this would be "[Irving's] show:
Irving's comments reflect a belief he should still be himself, as he says several times in the interview:
"You try to just put it in perspective, that I'm the point guard of this team," Irving said Sunday at Cleveland Clinic Courts, responding to a question about James' statements. "I've got to get us into our offense and lead our defense, just continue to be myself.
"I don't think (James) could've said it any better, honestly," Irving said. "You guys were going to make what you wanted out of that, but for us it's just about making plays. All of us have the ability to make plays out there and I think our offense will be designed around that."
via Kyrie Irving agrees with LeBron James on roles for Cleveland Cavaliers offense | cleveland.com.
What it means: It appears James felt Irving would get on board. But Irving indicated he wouldn't simply adjust to what James needed. That's a pretty brash approach from a young player who had never made the playoffs and had holes in his game. While pleased with the opportunity to play with James, Irving wasn't offering to change his game. He wanted to "just continue to be myself" next to James. Part of this could be related Irving's struggles with maturity early in his career. He had been cast as a team leader, a role he "shied away from," evidenced by skipping Fan Appreciation Night his second season. By the time James returned, Irving was willing to accept more responsibility, but only on his terms. When James came back. He didn't discuss his return to Cleveland with any teammates, including Irving. This happened to Irving.
The Struggle
The Cavs had plenty of issues the first two seasons after James returned. Winning the title in Season Two masked a lot of discord and angst, though Irving always seemed to be under the radar. It was about David Blatt (eventually fired) and Kevin Love (the infamous "fit in/fit out?" rant). But were there signs of issues between the two stars?
2015: Back on November 5, 2014, Irving recorded zero assists in a loss to the Jazz. It took a few months, but in April of 2015, Irving said James had lectured him after that game.
OK, no big deal, right? Irving understood what he needed to do. Except ...
2016: Teammates are puzzled when Irving has one assist in a close win over Dallas.
After the game, a few players were puzzled to how their point guard managed to register just one measly assist while playing 39 minutes. They were frustrated, but the win and Irving's huge defensive play lessened the anger.
The notion within the locker room is that the situation is tolerable, because it isn't permanent. If the Cavaliers were dealt the misfortune of playing without James for an extended period of time, this locker room would be boiling over.
Players are growing tired of Irving's inability to not only register a proper amount of assists at the lead guard position, but also to just move the ball.
Did Irving pass more than once? Of course, but only when he was forced to do so. At one point in the second quarter, he dribbled relentlessly for 24 seconds and went nowhere. Dallas' Chandler Parsons stayed in front of him and let him do all that fancy dribbling in one spot. Irving ended up settling for a tough mid-range jumper that clanked off the rim.
His teammates were in disbelief.
via Kyrie Irving shows again that he's not ready to lead a team | cleveland.com
What it means: This speaks volumes. Irving's assist numbers have creeped up the past two seasons, but still remain lower than expected from a point guard surrounded by Cleveland's shooters. The Cavs wanted him to play against type, that of a score-first point guard. But if you're Irving, the guy who scored 57 vs. the Spurs and later helped carry the Cavs back from a 3-1 Finals deficit -- capping it with the winning shot to secure Cleveland's title -- do you want your play criticized?
The win
2016: After making the biggest shot in franchise history, Irving's reaction may foreshadow his current situation while admitting his life changed:
"Yes, my life's changed drastically," Irving told cleveland.com Saturday, during Irving's friendship walk and basketball challenge downtown for Best Buddies, Ohio -- an organization that gives social growth and employment opportunities to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"It's kind of, you're waiting for that validation from everyone, I guess, to be considered one of the top players in the league at the highest stage," Irving said. "That kind of changed. I was just trying to earn everyone's respect as much as I could."
"I never thought I'd be an NBA champion when I was 24 years old," Irving said. "I just had to re-start, regroup and re-prioritize what I wanted to accomplish as a player and also as a teammate, this summer."
via Kyrie Irving: 'My life's changed drastically' after Game 7 shot | cleveland.com.
It's not hard to connect the dots between this comment and his current situation. Meanwhile, here's Irving when asked about the role James has played as a mentor, also only weeks removed from winning it all:
JH: You are one of the most marketable faces in the league. What is some business or off-the-court advice LeBron has given you?
KI: In terms of that we all have our own identities. I think Bron has dealt with it on a far bigger stage than I have at a very young age. For me, I was just the guy that kind of got overlooked than happened to be just kind of good at basketball. So for me, I just really experience it, live in the moment and make the best decision for my brand as well as my family, and if I need some advice I can go to my mentors and I will talk to a few of my teammates. Bron, he is just always giving me the bigger picture and what we are preparing for, which I'm really thankful for having a guy like that who's been through years and years of business as well as personal success. It is great to learn from him. Every single day, I just have open ears and just listen.
via Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving talks NBA Finals, LeBron James advice | SI.com.
December 2016: Here's what Irving said about his identity as a player:
"I'm naturally an Alpha," Irving told ESPN.com in a wide-ranging interview during a preview event for his new Nike sneaker, the Kyrie 3, on a gray Sunday afternoon in late November. "I know I am. I know I am. I have that type of personality but I also understood coming to this team, I couldn't be all of what I envision myself being in terms of taking control."
via NBA Kyrie Irving lives no fear stays true to self.
What it means: It's pretty clear Irving thinks of himself in one way, and believes he can win that way. Throw in the rumored bristling over being seen as a second option, and we can see a path to potential friction between the stars.
The hangover
2017: ESPN runs a feature on James and Irving and their relationship. Irving says he called Kobe Bryant to learn how to coexist with James, presumably to avoid the same pitfalls that caused Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal to separate.
Irving counts Bryant as a mentor and has talked to him about O'Neal in order to avoid the same mistakes with James.
"It's a tough balance," Irving told ESPN. "Because everyone knows, Shaq was really dominant and [had] a lot of the individual accolades ... unbelievable. And that's who he was. And Kobe was just consistently working on his game and consistently trying to prove everyone all the time. And you got to commend somebody for that. That just shows the true testament of their will and what they're willing to do and what they're willing to sacrifice, but I know I don't want to look back and say that I let my selfishness get in the way of us winning championships, because we have unbelievable talent on this team and unbelievable players, and so I don't want to ever take that for granted."
via 2017 NBA Finals -- Kyrie Irving, groomed to be the King's heir
Maybe if the Cavaliers had gotten past the Warriors to win another title, things would be different, but consider Irving's well-known relationship with Bryant. While Bryant has five titles, it's also well documented that he was big reason why O'Neal was dealt to Miami in 2004. Bryant reclaimed his place atop the game because the Lakers reconfigured around him as their alpha. It may be coincidental, but when the Cavaliers lost to the Warriors in five, talk commenced about James' potential departure.
The turn
There's a lot of speculation as to what led to Irving's trade demand. Was he trying to get ahead of James' departure? Was he upset the Cavaliers involved him in trade talk centered around Paul George? Or were the problems more central to James and Irving's relationship? From ESPN:
Much of Irving's disenchantment with James was rooted in game play, sources said. James, as a once-in-a-lifetime talent, controlled the ball more than any other forward perhaps in league history. Which means the ball was out of Irving's hands more than he preferred. That said, Irving led the Cavs in shots in the 2016-17 season, averaging 1.5 more per game than James, and Irving averaged a career-high 25.9 points. It was the first time in James' career he didn't lead his team in shots per game.
But there were ancillary issues that bothered Irving, too, such as how James' good friend Randy Mims had a position on the Cavs' staff and traveled on the team plane while none of Irving's close friends were afforded the same opportunity. Irving chafed about how peers such as Damian Lillard and John Wall were the center of their franchises and catered to accordingly. There's irony there, as Wall was envious of Irving's Nike shoe deal and Lillard has never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs. Irving has been to three Finals and has a championship.
Several times during the Cavs' playoff run, Irving had long, intense conversations with James as they tried to get the team into a groove following a choppy and inconsistent regular season, sources said.
via NBA - Inside the weeks of dysfunction surrounding Kyrie Irving's trade demand
Adding it up
It's likely no single factor led to this point. Maybe it's the relationship between James and Irving, the Cavs and Irving, Irving and his goals -- or a combination of these factors fostering a belief it's a matter of when, not if, the Cavs trade Irving.
These comments paint a picture of how Irving sees himself and may be more important than his relationship with James. Irving never saw himself as a player to adjust to James, to be the set-up man. And it seems James should shoulder some responsibility for the current mess. He once said he was tough on Irving because "he could handle it." Whatever the reason or reasons, Irving apparently has decided playing next to an all-time great isn't enough. There are reports that Irving feels James leaked the trade request to the media. James is reportedly devastated.
Indications are there is no way to repair this fracture, and maybe that's because it was a long time coming.
