0fficial 2017-2018 NBA Postseason Thread....NBA Finals Cavs vs Warriors 0-4(dubs back 2 back champs)

NBA Finals: Cavs owner makes huge Kyrie Irving AND LeBron James claim
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS owner Dan Gilbert has credited trading Kyrie Irving away and LeBron James' scintillating postseason performance as the reason they reached a fourth consecutive NBA Finals.
By STUART BALLARD
PUBLISHED: 03:15, Fri, Jun 1, 2018 | UPDATED: 03:15, Fri, Jun 1, 2018



Dan-Gilbert-states-the-Cavaliers-wouldn-t-have-made-the-NBA-Finals-without-trading-Kyrie-Irving-967860.jpg
GETTY

Dan Gilbert states the Cavaliers wouldn't have made the NBA Finals without trading Kyrie Irving
The Cavaliers were not favoured to reach the NBA Finals this year after finishing the regular season with the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference.

They had undergone two huge roster changes from last year with their biggest change being when Irving told Cleveland he wanted to leave.

Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic were acquired in the deal but neither Thomas or Crowder worked out.

They were both shipped out in the February trade deadline with Derrick Rose, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Dwayne Wade also leaving.

RELATED ARTICLES
Cleveland-traded-Kyrie-Irving-to-the-Boston-Celtics-last-summer-1364184.jpg
GETTY

Cleveland traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics last summer
In came George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr as the Cavaliers improved but they still struggled to climb up the Eastern Conference standings.

However, in a series of tweets prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Cavaliers and Warriors, Gilbert has spoken about how both James' excellence and trading Irving away in fact helped them reach the Finals.

He tweeted: "@cavs fans, despite multiple challenges, we have arrived at the NBA Finals for the 4th year in a row w/the opportunity to win our 2nd ring in 3 yrs.

"The biggest 3 reasons (among many) we are again here in Oakland a few minutes from the tip-off to Game 1 of the Finals are...



Dan-Gilbert-posted-a-series-of-tweets-prior-to-Game-1-about-the-Cavs-reaching-the-Finals-1364187.png
TWITTER/@cavsdan

Dan Gilbert posted a series of tweets prior to Game 1 about the Cavs reaching the Finals
"1. LeBron James - No words describe his level of play & commitment to this game. His impact is magical. We go as he goes.

"2. The dedication & underlying belief of KLove, TT, JR , Korver, Green, G.Hill, Larry, Clarkson, Cedi, Ante, Perk & every other player on this roster

"3. Trade 1.0 last summer & Trade 2.0 at the deadline led by a humble, talented, young GM: Koby Altman.

"W/o either of these 2 bold moves orchestrated by Koby & the @cavs front office, we would not be here w/ a good chance to bring another one home to CLE. #WhateverItTakes

giphy.gif
 
LeBron James says he called Cavaliers to ask them not to trade Kyrie Irving
229
Well, that’s that, then.
By Carter Rodriguez@Carter_Shade May 30, 2018, 10:42pm CDTSHARE
usa_today_10143254.0.jpg
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
There’s been plenty of speculation that LeBron James had communicated to the Cleveland Cavaliers that he didn’t want the team to trade Kyrie Irving. James finally confirmed that in a discussion with Rachel Nichols.

Via ESPN:

It has been widely reported that James was against the Cavs’ decision to acquiesce to Kyrie Irving’s trade request. For the first time publicly, James told Nichols that he did call management to ask them not to trade Irving.

”Even if you start back to the summertime where I felt like it was just bad for our franchise just to be able to trade away our superstar point guard,” James said. “A guy that I had been in so many battles with over the last three years and obviously I wasn’t a part of the communications and know exactly what went on between the two sides. But I just felt like it was bad timing for our team.”

This isn’t ultimately particularly groundbreaking, but it is the first time James has acknowledged publicly that he didn’t want the team to trade the All-Star point guard that hit the championship-winning three in the 2016 NBA Finals.

It is interesting to see that the Cavaliers have mostly taken such leaks on the chin. We know things were more tense than they appeared between LeBron and Kyrie (see: Jason Lloyd’s “fraternizing with the enemy” piece on Irving’s eventual departure) and that Irving was chafing at playing alongside such an all-encompassing star.

The Cavaliers gain nothing but protecting pride by mentioning LeBron’s role in the departure, but for such a dysfunctional organization that has so often failed at interpersonal politics, it’s been the right strategy to take. They certainly didn’t need to trade Irving, and James probably did call to tell them not to deal him, but the relationship wasn’t right, and we know that to be the case.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who caused what at the end. This is a messaging game and an ego game at this point, and the Cavaliers will have to play things perfectly if they want to keep the King in town.
 
Pretty good half...

Dubs doing this damage from rebounds to transaction....a thing of beauty
 
See this why i say LeBron so good. Every 2 aint a 2 every 3 aint a 3 . That 3 point shot just tied the game and forced a time out. That 3 is different then a 3 that comes after a 4-4 run.

LeBron allways makes big plays at the right time
 
Back
Top