For several months since Kyrie Irving demanded a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, many assumed that LeBron James was the one who wanted his point guard traded. But according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, James was against the prospect of seeing his then-teammate in another uniform.
This is in contrast to reports swirling at the time that 1) James wanted the trade to happen and 2) that he thought the team was better off without Irving.
According to Windhorst:
“There was excitement in Cleveland for the pieces the Cavs got in the Irving trade. But as the season has unfolded, second-guessing has been developing. James himself was publicly supportive, but it is no secret within the organization that he was against trading Irving after the demand (and well before the now-famous Arthur tweet). It's fair to wonder what might've happened had the Cavs simply told Irving, who was under contract for two more years, they weren't trading him, as the Spurs held the line with Aldridge.”
In a story that he wrote for ESPN, Windhorst was comparing the trade demand situation between the Cavs and Irving, and the San Antonio Spurs and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Aldridge came to the Spurs to take over the leadership and post position vacated by Tim Duncan, their all-world power forward, who retired two seasons ago. But last season, it appeared that Aldridge had regressed and speculation was that coach Greg Popovich was more than disappointed with his star acquisition. This prompted Aldridge to demand a trade from the organization, not dissimilar to Irving’s own request.
But that’s where the comparison ends. The Spurs had discussions with Aldridge with Popovich acknowledging that he needed to change how he approached his player. The Cavs, however, decided that the gulf between them and Irving was irreparable and decided to acquiesce to the All-Star point guard’s desire to leave the franchise.
With the Cavs struggling on both ends of the court, including on offense which was their bread-and-butter, the organization and the players have to wonder whether they made the right decision to trade Irving.
But Isaiah Thomas, the key piece in the trade which included a first-round pick, Jae Crowder, and Ante Zizic, has just returned from injury and may yet prove later in the season that he is Irving’s equal. Or maybe the draft pick will turn out to be a stud to lead the Cavs into a bright future.
Until then, however, Cleveland has to be second-guessing itself, unlike James who was absolutely certain that he wanted Irving to stay in the first place.
Follow Us
Subscribe