Cavaliers’ Irving asks to be traded
CLEVELAND — Kyrie Irving wants the stage for himself.
Cleveland's All-Star point guard has asked the Cavaliers to trade him, two people familiar with the situation told the Associated Press on Friday. Irving made the request last week to owner Dan Gilbert, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team is not commenting on the star's demands.
Irving's appeal was reported by ESPN.
Afour-time All-Star, Irving has spent six seasons with the Cavs, who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2011. The 25- year- old has overcome injury issues and blossomed into one of the league's elite point guards and biggest stars.
And now that he's finally established himself playing alongside LeBron James, Irving wants out.
He's under contract for two more seasons with Cleveland (he has a player option in 2020), but the Cavs could be inclined to move Irving now and begin another rebuild around James, who can opt out of his contract next summer and leave Ohio for the second time.
The bombshell about Irving adds to what has been a tumultuous offseason for the Cavs following their loss in five games to Golden State in the NBA Finals. General manager David Griffin parted ways with the club after failing to work out first a new contract with Gilbert and while other teams have been active in signing free agents the Cavs have been limited in their ability to revamp their roster because of salary-cap issues.
Also, the Cavs courted former NBA star Chauncey Billups but couldn't get him to join their front office.
Irving's request to be dealt perhaps sheds some light on the Cavs' recent pursuit of former league MVP Derrick Rose. The team has talked to Rose about a one-year contract in recent days, a source familiar with the negotiations told the AP on Thursday.
Rose was thought to be a potential backup, but now it appears he could be needed to start if the Cavs and Irving are indeed breaking up.
There is certain to be major interest in Irving, who averaged a career-high 25.2 points and 5.8 assists in 72 games last season. Irving averaged 25.9 points in his third straight Finals, but he and James couldn't do enough to match the Warriors, who took back their crown after adding Kevin Durant last summer.
A potential trade partner for the Cavs could be the New York Knicks, who have been trying to unload Carmelo Anthony, a close friend of James. Irving is from New Jersey and would welcome a chance to go back to his home area. However, the Knicks may not have enough assets to intrigue the Cavs and there is a sizeable imbalance in contracts, so the Cavs would have to include other players in any potential deal. 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and run; Clipper Drew Szafranski 2-for-5 with two robbed bases and two runs; Doris 2for-4 with a double, theft, RBI and two runs; and Nick Toro, an incoming Lincoln frosh, 1-for-5 with two RBI.
Scungio lasted five frames, yielding seven hits, three runs (all earned) and a walk while fanning a trio, but didn’t get the decision. That went to Lincoln grad and Trinity College sophomore Alex Levin, who was the pitcher of record before UD’s seventh-inning eruption.
He hurled the sixth and seventh, allowing four hits, three runs (all earned) and a pass without a strikeout.
Marques collected the save with two whiffs in the ninth.
“I never anticipated a game like this, especially after jumping out to a 5-0 lead,” stated assistant coach Matt Allard after his squad improved to 17-11-1 on the campaign. “Still, you have to give R&R credit. They came back and tied the game. We knew it was going to be a grind; they’re not the fourth seed without good reason.
“We had 11 runs and 18 hits, and – when you do that – you’re going to win nine out of 10 times,” he added. “We’ve been hitting the ball great since last weekend (ironically enough in a twinbill split at R&R). We’ve had better approaches at the plate, the kids are seeing the ball out of the pitcher’s hand and they have more focused plans in the box.”
With the decision, two-time defending state champion UD now will prepare to face a still-unknown foe in the tourney’s Final Four on Monday night at West Warwick’s McCarthy Field.
“We’ll play either at 5 or 7:30 (p,m.),” Allard said. “We don’t know who yet because they reseed the remaining teams after the quarters according to (regularseason) league standings. This was a total team effort, and we’re really looking forward to next week. We’re looking for a ‘three-peat.’”
The home club started fast, notching a run in the bottom of the first after righty starter Justin Reynolds plunked Larson with a pitch off his helmet. He then robbed second and scored on DeLeon’s two-out hit to left.
It bolstered that advantage to 4-0 in the second; Kopack ripped a double to left, and Doris plated him with another two-bagger to right before racing in on Toro’s hit to left. No. 9 batter Shane Calabro then bounced into a double play, but Szafranski reached on an infield hit, robbed second, immediately took third when the catcher’s throw bounded into center and scored on Marques’ rope single to right.
Donovan led off the third with an infield hit, hustled to second on Kopack’s single to center, robbed third and came in on Toro’s groundout to short for the 5-0 lead.
Scungio had retired six straight before Eric Durudogan knocked a hit to left in the fifth, and Joe Olynack and Jack Gomes both singled to fill the bags. Powell roped a hit to left to plate Durudogan, and Connor Richardson whacked a Baltimore-chop infield hit off the home dish. Scungio fielded it, but not in time to catch Olynack. Gomes later sprinted home on a wild offering, slicing it to 5-3.
In the sixth, UD garnered an insurance tally when the leadoff Larson singled to center, Marques pushed him to third with another and Donovan’s sacrifice fly to center scored him.
R&R still found a way to tie it up in the seventh off of Levin, who issued Gomes a one-out walk. Tim Powell (2for-4, RBI, two runs) doubled him to third, and Richardson’s hit to right plated him. Zac Chamberlain, acting as a pinchhitter, singled in Powell, and Tom McSparren reached on a bad-hop hit to short to knock in Richardson.
Levin yielded Konnor Kluth a fielder’s choice to put runners at the corners, but third baseman Donovan made a terrific play on Austin Walker’s grounder and threw him out to close the flurry.
Doris opened the eighth with a walk, but reliever Gomes retired the next two with ease. Doris claimed third after two groundouts, and he scored on a wild pitch. Szafranski then singled, Larson walked and Marques crushed an RBI double, DeLeon reached on an RBI infield hit and Donovan received a pass before Kopack plated two with a rip to left. That made it 11-6. The visitors responded with a pair in the eighth on RBI hits by Richardson and Chamberlain, but UD escaped when left fielder Doris gunned down Richardson trying to score.
“Marques, DeLeon, Donovan and Kopack are right there in the middle of the lineup, and they hit the ball great,” Allard noted. “When we get guys on base, it’s their job to get them in. They did well.
“We’re right where we want to be pitching-wise,” he added. “Scungio pitched very well, but I think he tired a little in the fifth. The first four, he was cruising. In that inning, they didn’t hit the ball really hard but were finding holes.