Kyrie Irving's request to be traded threw a wrench in the Cavaliers' summer plans. Instead of bolstering their current roster to prepare for another run of knocking off the Warriors, the team has spent most of its efforts working up trade scenarios to get a good return on the All-Star point guard.
Even though the Cavs' conundrum has been the talk of the NBA for the last month, Warriors superstar Kevin Durant says Irving's situation is commonplace in the league.
"It's just a regular NBA problem, right? A lot of teams have gone through this before," Durant told ESPN. "They'll figure it out. That's a great organization, a championship organization. They'll figure it out."
It's easy for Durant to talk about, perhaps, because he's been in a similar situation. Although Durant never requested a trade from the Thunder (that we know of), he did choose to leave OKC and Russell Westbrook in free agency last summer for the Warriors. There were rumblings of spats between he and Westbrook privately, and their on-court chemistry left something to be desired. However, none were as public as the one between Irving and James taking place this very moment.
Although Durant and Westbrook eventually split ways, KD says the Cavs' situation will work itself out one way or another -- even if Irving wants to move out from LeBron's shadow.
"It's not the end of the world," Durant said. "Both of those guys won a championship together. They love each other. If Kyrie wants to do something else, that's on him. I'm sure whatever happens, it'll work out for the best for both of them. But it's just a normal NBA problem. It's just two big stars that it's happening to."
