The latest report that Kyrie Irving doesn’t want to be in Cleveland isn’t new, and it isn’t even from a new source.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said the same thing that he’s been saying since at least late February, which is that it’s been made known by people close to Irving for years that he wants to play somewhere else in the future.
But in our short-attention-span news cycle, it got treated as breaking information on Friday, and that had Irving taking to Twitter to angrily rip the allegations.Sick to my stomach with all these rumors and accusations. Can I play without media guessing at my life and putting B.S out for headlines.
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) April 5, 2014
It brings nothing but negativity to the team and portraying me as something I’m not. I don’t want or need the attention, so it can stop now.
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) April 5, 2014
At least be man or woman enough to come and ask me. There’s no such source as “Kyrie’s camp”, nothing but nonsense.
— Kyrie Irving (@KyrieIrving) April 5, 2014
Let’s be careful to note a few important things here:
- The source of the report is as credible as they come, and there’s zero reason to believe that the information Windhorst has been receiving (and has subsequently put out there) isn’t 100 percent accurate.
- These types of things obviously cause issues with an athlete and his current team, with teammates wondering what’s really going on, and with reporters covering the club being forced to repeatedly ask about the allegations. It’s understandable that Irving is tired of hearing them. However ...
- There was no denial by Irving here of anything that was reported.
Irving wanting out of Cleveland wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, and it wouldn’t be the first time (or the last) that a star player wants out of a small market that hasn’t been able to surround him with enough talent to win in the time he was there.
The Cavaliers tried multiple times to add players in free agency to improve and make a run at the playoffs this season, it’s just that none of the moves worked out. Earl Clark, Jarrett Jack and Andrew Bynum were signed last summer, and when none of those players could make an impact, the team traded for a well-respected veteran All-Star in Luol Deng.
The effort is there. But Deng will almost assuredly leave in free agency once the season is finished, and Cleveland will essentially be back to square one, having one more season to try to put the pieces in place to impress upon Irving that Cleveland is a fine place to stay.
Irving is a restricted free agent following next season, but he will be offered a five-year max contract extension this summer. If the reports are really false, all Irving has to do is sign the deal to (at least temporarily) prove that’s the case.
