LeBron James and Kyrie Irving no longer suit up for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but back when they both did, James pled with Cavs general manager Koby Altman not to trade away the All-Star point guard.
Irving was traded during the summer of 2017, and according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, that trade seemed to fly in the face of James’ desire to continue playing alongside him.
“James was adamant on the call — do not trade Irving, especially to the Celtics,” Vardon wrote. “By the end of the call, according to four separate accounts of people present for the conversation, Altman told James the trade would not occur.
“Minutes later, on Aug. 22, 2017, word broke that the Cavs agreed in principle to send Irving to Boston for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s 2018 first-round pick.
“James’ close friend, Randy Mims, and bodyguard Rob Brown came to him with their phones to show him the news. James, who was still signing jerseys, dropped the pen and slumped in his chair.”
James then revealed a belief he holds regarding Irving’s departure:
“Everyone knows that when Kyrie got traded it was the beginning of the end for everything. It’s not a secret.”
He continued to say that he does not blame Altman. It seems quite clear, however, that he does blame Cavs owner Dan Gilbert:
“You realize at that point in time, take nothing from Koby, because Koby (was just named GM), but at that point in time, you realize that Koby’s not the only one running the team, as (former GM David Griffin) had done, and that’s why Griff was let go pretty much.”
It seems that with time, James has been far more willing to open up about his time in Cleveland, and what brought it to an end this past summer.
It will be fascinating to see what else James opens up about as his years in Cleveland begin to fade further and further into the past.
