According to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, former Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James said that he’s not to be blamed for Kyrie Irving’s departure from Cleveland in the summer of 2017.
Irving’s departure from the Cavs may have happened over a year ago, but there are new details that continue to surface today.
One of the main criticisms James faced was how passive he was during the time of Irving’s trade request. Once Irving wanted out, James reportedly did little to patch up the relationship between him and Irving, but has since said that Irving’s issue was with the organization and not with him.
A number of sources told The Athletic that Irving’s issues stemmed from not wanting to play alongside James and be stuck on a roster built for James after his departure.
“That’s not my problem. If that’s the case, that’s definitely not my problem,” James said. “I never felt like I didn’t want to play with him. The only thing I tried to do is give him whatever I could and more.”
Despite this, James did acknowledge that he didn’t do much to alleviate the situation at the time because he believed it was too late.
“I think by the time it got to me he wanted to be traded, I think he was already gone,” James said. “He was already gone and it was up to the organization to do their job and try to keep him as well. The guy still had two years left on his contract. They didn’t have to give him up. It could’ve been repaired then. Bring him in, let’s see what happens. I don’t think his stock drops if he still comes to Cleveland, see what happens and at the trade deadline you could still do it then.”
Regardless of what transpired that summer, there doesn’t seem to be any real beef between James and Irving, who both appear to be happy with their new teams.
