The Cleveland Cavaliers went through a really rocky off season after losing in 5 games to the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert fired Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin when Griffin asked for more money (Griffin was barely making 2 million a year and GM's are worth at least 4 million a year). Miami Heat & Cleveland Cavaliers teammate of LeBron James James Jones was hired as Vice President of the Phoenix Suns. Now lets look at what the Cleveland Cavaliers acquisitions that they failed to land in Cleveland. Jimmy Butler (who said he didn't want to play with LBJ in Cleveland) and Paul George who the Indiana Pacers would not trade Paul George to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kevin Love. Now look at what acquisitions that the Cavaliers had to settle for. New GM Koby Altman, Derrick Rose (when healthy a scoring machine but injury prone), Jeff Green (who is inconsistent), and traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and a 2018 first round draft pick. The Cleveland Cavaliers watched the following teams upgrade: The Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics, and now the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kyrie Irving has expressed that he wanted to be traded. Irving, like what sportscasters often say, "Irving didn't want to be Robin to LBJ's Batman." When Cleveland won the NBA Championship in 2016 erasing a 52 year drought not winning anything, it was Kyrie Irving who was the hero in Game 7 in the NBA finals when Irving hit the go ahead 3-pointer over Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors which help seal the win for the Cavaliers, who also made history being the first NBA team to come back from being down 3-1 in the NBA Finals to win 4-3 in the best of 7 game series. When Kyrie Irving was drafted the #1 overall pick by the Cleveland back in 2011, former #1 overall pick LeBron James in 2003 decided to take his talent to South Beach in 2010 and went to the Miami Heat a year ago. The Cleveland Cavaliers stunk when LBJ was in Miami, in fact the Cavaliers didn't make the playoffs at all while LBJ was in Miami. LBJ had went to 4 NBA Finals with the Miami Heat winning 2 NBA Titles. LBJ decided that he would come back to Cleveland and for 3 years LBJ and Kyrie Irving were a scoring duo and sometimes a trio with Kevin Love being that 3rd scoring option. Kyrie Irving felt that he could help a team win a Championship like he did with the Cleveland Cavaliers but Irving felt that he didn't want to stay in Cleveland. Irving want to prove that he can win without LBJ and that's why Irving decided that in order to do that Irving requested to be traded because he didn't want to play with LBJ anymore. Can the Boston Celtics be the team in the East to put the Cleveland Cavaliers out of the NBA Finals? For now no but in 3 or 4 years look out.
The NBA players will always be criticized for the decisions that they make but the media and the fans must understand that it is all apart of the business. Can you really blame Kyrie Irving for wanting to play elsewhere? You really can't because it seems like Owner Dan Gilbert of the Cavaliers is pushing out some of the players like he pushed out GM David Griffin. Gilbert and LBJ never forgot what was said to each other when LBJ made the decision in 2010 on ESPN radio and the letter that Gilbert wrote to LBJ in 2010. Gilbert has assembled a team in place just in case LBJ decides to leave again. Irving played with Cleveland 6 years and gave that team his best every time Irving wore a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform. Cavaliers fans can't forget the great memories that they had with what Irving has done.
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