Cavs GM takes the Ky’ road
After next season, LeBron James may leave Cleveland again. After three straight NBA Finals appearances, and one long-awaited championship, the Cavaliers could soon crash back to irrelevance, if the four-time MVP takes his talents to another beach — see Los Angeles — in free agency.
There may not be much that the Cavaliers can do to ensure James will stay in Cleveland, but new general manager Koby Altman began building for the future by attempting to build back up the trade value of star guard Kyrie Irving during his introductory press conference on Wednesday.
Recently, Irving reportedly requested to be traded, but Altman veered from Phil Jackson’s strategy (as it pertained to Carmelo Anthony) of giving away all leverage in a potential deal, calling it a “fluid situation.”
Altman said he had spoken with Irving’s representatives, but wouldn’t discuss what was said.
“I don’t feel it’s appropriate to get into dettails,” Altman said at his Cleveland press conference. “Kyrie is a tremendous player. He continues to be a core piece of who we are and what we do.”
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said “there were several scenarios discussed” in his meeting with Irving, and he expected the 25-year-old guard to be at training camp, alongside James.
“Right now Kyrie Irving is under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers for two or three years, depending on the last year,” Gilbert said. “So, as of now, he’s one of our best players. Sure, we expect him to be in camp.”
Altman seemed to expect Irving there, too, saying he signed former MVP Derrick Rose to come “off the bench,” as a “backup point guard.”
As for the reports of problems between James and Irving, Altman said the team’s two biggest stars wouldn’t have an issue playing together next season.
“The animosity between LeBron James and Kyrie Irving is overblown,” Altman said. “They’re continuing to coexist.”
Coexisting could be enough to claim another Eastern Conference championship, at least. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal did it for far longer, with far more hostility.
Gilbert even referenced how Bryant requested to be traded from the Lakers in 2007, and a deal was never made, with Bryant ultimately leading the team to two more championships.
If the Cavaliers get nothing but low-ball offers, perhaps Irving will remain in Cleveland, still part of the core of the team to beat in the East.
“It’s unfortunate the narrative that’s going around,” Altman said. “This thing is not broken.”