Kyrie Irving reportedly requested a trade from the Cavaliers only after hearing they discussed trading him.
But maybe Irving’s problem wasn’t with the Cavs as an organization exploring trading him.
Maybe it was with a specific Cav looking to trade him – LeBron James.
LeBron reportedly suggested Cleveland trade Irving for Damian Lillard, but that was supposedly after Irving’s trade request. By all accounts, LeBron told the Cavaliers not to trade Irving.
Still, perhaps that was only because Irving’s trade request had become public, undermining the Cavs’ leverage. Throughout that saga, LeBron certainly didn’t act as if he were invested in Irving staying.
How long had this been building? Irving reportedly considered requesting a trade in 2016, a year before he actually he did. Did Irving believe for years LeBron wanted him gone?
Really, there are two key questions here: Did LeBron want Irving traded? Did Irving believe LeBron wanted him traded. Both mattered. Even if LeBron never wanted Irving traded but Irving believed otherwise, that perception apparently drove Irving’s exit from Cleveland.
Both Irving and LeBron have taken major steps in diffusing tension between them. Really, this story indicates just how far they had to come to make that happen.