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Sports Talk: Bill Simmons, Chuck Klosterman& NBA Insiders discuss the REAL reason Kyrie left Cleveland
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https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports...-irving-to-ask-for-trade-in-2017/95-572911394
Ex-Cleveland Cavaliers GM David Griffin discusses what led Kyrie Irving to ask for trade in 2017
According to Griffin, Kyrie Irving 'wasn't going to have the template from which to find out how great he can truly be because he wasn't going to have the ball enough' playing with LeBron James.
Author: Dave "Dino" DeNatale
Published: 9:36 PM EDT July 11, 2018
Updated: 9:42 PM EDT July 11, 2018
The aftershocks of LeBron James' departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers are still being felt across the NBA ten days after the 4-time MVP announced he was joining the Los Angeles Lakers.
In retrospect, the earthquake may have started last summer. After the Cavs were beaten by the Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals, GM David Griffin departed the team when it became clear he and owner Dan Gilbert could no longer co-exist.
About a month later, word came down that Kyrie Irving asked the Cavaliers to trade him. In August, Irving was dealt to the Boston Celtics, breaking up the Big 3 of Irving, Kevin Love, and LeBron James.
We know why Irving wanted to leave. He wasn't happy being second fiddle to James and wanted the opportunity to expand his game somewhere else. But what was going on behind the scenes?
Griffin recently was a guest on the Good N’ Plenty Podcast with Jeff Goodman and spent several minutes discussing the motivations behind Irving deciding it was best to be away from James and the Cavaliers. The portion featuring the Irving-James relationship started around the 6:30 mark.
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First and foremost, Griffin spoke about the summer of 2014, when Irving agreed to a long-term contract to remain in Cleveland. Kyrie didn't just sign with the Cavs, he was actively trying to recruit other free agents to come here before anyone had a clue what James was going to do. Suddenly, LeBron decided to come home and everything changed for Irving.
“Obviously if LeBron decides he wants to come home you’re taking LeBron, you want LeBron. But, that meant Kyrie went from being ‘the man’ on a team he recruited every member of to he is now going to be second fiddle to the greatest player of his generation. Well that’s a radically different life experience for Kyrie. Because all we were doing (prior to LeBron arriving) was going through “the process” without the rhetoric. So we had been building very mindfully to create this space and to create this treasure trove of assets. That’s all he [Kyrie] had been there for. So to go from ok, kid flip the switch you’re gonna play with the greatest player ever you have to win a Championship this year. That’’s not easy. I don’t think people understand the totality of how profound that would have been on a great young player who still hadn’t figured out how to be the reason you win games.”
This was a point recently made by Jason Lloyd of The Athletic during a roundtable that featured Lloyd, ESPN's Dave McMenamin, and Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon on 92.3 The Fan. Irving suddenly was not going to be the man in Cleveland. And it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Griffin mentioned that during the three years James and Irving were together, he traveled with the Cavs on the road quite a bit, never sensing any friction between the two superstars.
“Kyrie and LeBron didn’t have drama as individuals,” said Griffin. “They could laugh and joke and make fun of each other just like everyone else did on the team. But there was more and more friction in the process in terms of how we go about winning games. It became really evident to Kyrie that he wasn’t going to have the template from which to find out how great he can truly be because he wasn’t going to have the ball enough. And when you’re trying to be point guard who makes everybody better that can be complicated. So I think once we won the championship it became clear to him that maybe he was going to need to do something else. And once I was gone, I think it became clear to him that he probably wanted to execute that plan sooner rather than later.”
Why would Irving give up the chance to play in a Big 3 with LeBron where he could have a chance to win a championship every year?
“Not everyone wants to play with the best player of his generation. People have had the opportunities to join forces and didn’t. If Kyrie envisions himself as an Alpha and LeBron is an Alpha, the worst thing you can do is say you can do this and then sink us (Cavaliers) from within. If you can’t be over yourself enough to be part of winning and that’s all you care about just say so and there’s no judgment here but don’t sink us from within. I gave Kyrie a lot of credit for just saying ‘listen I think there's a better expression from my game somewhere else'."
Griffin continued.
“It’s not that he [Irving] didn’t feel he could (play second fiddle to LeBron) he couldn’t. Nobody could have become a ball dominant play creator that makes people better in the presence of the single most efficient ball dominant play creator in history. Kyrie had to do this for the sake of himself as a basketball player and it had much less to do with his relationship with LeBron. But, it’s not as sexy a story, so we focus on the relationship as though somehow it would matter more if they hated each other. Ok lets pretend that they did, and they don’t, but if they did now what? Why is that more interesting than someone recognizing they have true greatness in him and wanted to find it?”
What about the way the request was handled by Irving to the Cavaliers?
"I think he (Irving) handled his side of things exactly right. He asked for the trade quietly, it's not his fault that the matter became public. It became public because it wasn't handled well on a lot of different levels, which wasn't his fault. He became vilified, when in reality it hand nothing to do with getting away from LeBron. It's I'm a 24 or 25 year old kid with a wealth of potential, who already has won an Olympic gold medal, who has won an NBA championship, who has hit the biggest shot in Cleveland sports history. Now I want to go see how good I can really be. You can't fault him for that."
Ex-Cleveland Cavaliers GM David Griffin discusses what led Kyrie Irving to ask for trade in 2017
According to Griffin, Kyrie Irving 'wasn't going to have the template from which to find out how great he can truly be because he wasn't going to have the ball enough' playing with LeBron James.
Author: Dave "Dino" DeNatale
Published: 9:36 PM EDT July 11, 2018
Updated: 9:42 PM EDT July 11, 2018
The aftershocks of LeBron James' departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers are still being felt across the NBA ten days after the 4-time MVP announced he was joining the Los Angeles Lakers.
In retrospect, the earthquake may have started last summer. After the Cavs were beaten by the Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals, GM David Griffin departed the team when it became clear he and owner Dan Gilbert could no longer co-exist.
About a month later, word came down that Kyrie Irving asked the Cavaliers to trade him. In August, Irving was dealt to the Boston Celtics, breaking up the Big 3 of Irving, Kevin Love, and LeBron James.
We know why Irving wanted to leave. He wasn't happy being second fiddle to James and wanted the opportunity to expand his game somewhere else. But what was going on behind the scenes?
Griffin recently was a guest on the Good N’ Plenty Podcast with Jeff Goodman and spent several minutes discussing the motivations behind Irving deciding it was best to be away from James and the Cavaliers. The portion featuring the Irving-James relationship started around the 6:30 mark.
Sign up for the daily Top 3 Newsletter
This email will be delivered to your inbox once a day in the morning.
First and foremost, Griffin spoke about the summer of 2014, when Irving agreed to a long-term contract to remain in Cleveland. Kyrie didn't just sign with the Cavs, he was actively trying to recruit other free agents to come here before anyone had a clue what James was going to do. Suddenly, LeBron decided to come home and everything changed for Irving.
“Obviously if LeBron decides he wants to come home you’re taking LeBron, you want LeBron. But, that meant Kyrie went from being ‘the man’ on a team he recruited every member of to he is now going to be second fiddle to the greatest player of his generation. Well that’s a radically different life experience for Kyrie. Because all we were doing (prior to LeBron arriving) was going through “the process” without the rhetoric. So we had been building very mindfully to create this space and to create this treasure trove of assets. That’s all he [Kyrie] had been there for. So to go from ok, kid flip the switch you’re gonna play with the greatest player ever you have to win a Championship this year. That’’s not easy. I don’t think people understand the totality of how profound that would have been on a great young player who still hadn’t figured out how to be the reason you win games.”
This was a point recently made by Jason Lloyd of The Athletic during a roundtable that featured Lloyd, ESPN's Dave McMenamin, and Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon on 92.3 The Fan. Irving suddenly was not going to be the man in Cleveland. And it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Griffin mentioned that during the three years James and Irving were together, he traveled with the Cavs on the road quite a bit, never sensing any friction between the two superstars.
“Kyrie and LeBron didn’t have drama as individuals,” said Griffin. “They could laugh and joke and make fun of each other just like everyone else did on the team. But there was more and more friction in the process in terms of how we go about winning games. It became really evident to Kyrie that he wasn’t going to have the template from which to find out how great he can truly be because he wasn’t going to have the ball enough. And when you’re trying to be point guard who makes everybody better that can be complicated. So I think once we won the championship it became clear to him that maybe he was going to need to do something else. And once I was gone, I think it became clear to him that he probably wanted to execute that plan sooner rather than later.”
Why would Irving give up the chance to play in a Big 3 with LeBron where he could have a chance to win a championship every year?
“Not everyone wants to play with the best player of his generation. People have had the opportunities to join forces and didn’t. If Kyrie envisions himself as an Alpha and LeBron is an Alpha, the worst thing you can do is say you can do this and then sink us (Cavaliers) from within. If you can’t be over yourself enough to be part of winning and that’s all you care about just say so and there’s no judgment here but don’t sink us from within. I gave Kyrie a lot of credit for just saying ‘listen I think there's a better expression from my game somewhere else'."
Griffin continued.
“It’s not that he [Irving] didn’t feel he could (play second fiddle to LeBron) he couldn’t. Nobody could have become a ball dominant play creator that makes people better in the presence of the single most efficient ball dominant play creator in history. Kyrie had to do this for the sake of himself as a basketball player and it had much less to do with his relationship with LeBron. But, it’s not as sexy a story, so we focus on the relationship as though somehow it would matter more if they hated each other. Ok lets pretend that they did, and they don’t, but if they did now what? Why is that more interesting than someone recognizing they have true greatness in him and wanted to find it?”
What about the way the request was handled by Irving to the Cavaliers?
"I think he (Irving) handled his side of things exactly right. He asked for the trade quietly, it's not his fault that the matter became public. It became public because it wasn't handled well on a lot of different levels, which wasn't his fault. He became vilified, when in reality it hand nothing to do with getting away from LeBron. It's I'm a 24 or 25 year old kid with a wealth of potential, who already has won an Olympic gold medal, who has won an NBA championship, who has hit the biggest shot in Cleveland sports history. Now I want to go see how good I can really be. You can't fault him for that."
Bullshit. Kyrie didn't want to be put on the spot. Kyrie didn't want Lebron, yes. But the real reason he left is because he wanted beat Lebron out of town.
Lebron left, like we knew he would. Especially after that championship. He was gone. But when Lebron leaves, everyone is now looking at Kyrie to extend. Well . . .
Was a slick move. These guys make so much money, but lack Street Smarts. That's why these corporate GMs and owners are stuck on stupid.
Lebron left, like we knew he would. Especially after that championship. He was gone. But when Lebron leaves, everyone is now looking at Kyrie to extend. Well . . .
Was a slick move. These guys make so much money, but lack Street Smarts. That's why these corporate GMs and owners are stuck on stupid.
Not for nothing, but Kyrie being here now would still lead to the lottery. He had years to get the Cavs right by himself and couldn't. That shit in Boston was fake because the coach and the team damn near made the finals without him.
Don't blame him for wanting to leave though.
Don't blame him for wanting to leave though.
I can buy that but the Lebron haters will still keep their narrative that they didn't get along.
Fuck the truth when lies make better stories.
Fuck the truth when lies make better stories.
I REALLY hope that t-shirt thing is false
Cause if true.
that getting CREDIT for the shirt was MORE important then the message?
I lost ALL respect for Kyrie.
Cause if true.
that getting CREDIT for the shirt was MORE important then the message?
I lost ALL respect for Kyrie.
- "The flat earth drama really bothered Kyrie."
Kyrie is really the player a lot of ya'll talk about you wanted the league to have, the "do it on my own spirit".
But all of that will be overlooked because of his diva like attitude.
But all of that will be overlooked because of his diva like attitude.
The best fit for Kyrie right now is San Antonio. He needs to play with Lamarcus Aldridge. I think those two could do damage together.
Spurs need to trade Kawhi to Boston for Kyrie.
Spurs need to trade Kawhi to Boston for Kyrie.
Basically, Kyrie couldn’t handle or acknowledge Lebron is not only the best player in this era but his superior? Ok. Moving on 
Funny,how his tune changed after saying Boston is this and that at the beginning....
Kyrie is a weird dude. Mark my word. He will retire by thirty.
He even said he wasn’t trying to hoop into his 30s
He said he hopes to be done with ball by then
Man this nigga need meds.
he just needs to go to LA
Funny,how his tune changed after saying Boston is this and that at the beginning....
YUP
Seems like he gonna be a problem of there's gonna be an issue wherever he goes.
crazy thing is?
If he had just STAYED?
This man would STILL be considered top 5 in the league.
His NEED to be his own "man" and get AWAY from Lebron?
EXPOSED the f*ck out of him
and the WORST PART?
Also covered the sh*tshow that Boston was and protects Ainge and Stevens.
Exposed?
How was Cleveland doing with Kyrie before LeBron returned?
Who is Kyrie's "mentor" ?
This was predictable as fuck.
The man can ball. Some of the craziest skills I've seen... EVER.
He isn't as crazy as people would have us believe either. He is into metaphysics.
Funny,how his tune changed after saying Boston is this and that at the beginning....
He just had to say that....dude never wanted to go there
Yeah..exposed his mental.
being the ALPHA on a pro team is NOT easy.
and obviously Lebron was SOME type of "mentor"
cause Kyrie called LEBRON to apologize when he saw how TOUGH it was in Boston.
Kyrie Irving Explains Why He Requested Trade From Cavs Wh...
In an interview with 'I Am Athlete,' Kyrie Irving ...
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