Cavaliers’ execs deny chaos
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert spent more than 30 minutes presenting a positive portrait of his franchise.
The reality is that the Cavs are troubled.
In his first public comments since Kyrie Irving asked to be traded, Gilbert would not confirm whether he’ll honor the All-Star point guard’s request, but he also didn’t rule out the real possibility that Cleveland might deal its second-best player — or if he thinks LeBron James will stay beyond next season.
“These things are fluid,” said Gilbert at news conference in Independence, Ohio. “We think that Kyrie Irving is one of the best guards in the NBA. He was part of a championship, three years straight to the Finals and we value his talent — significantly.”
Despite several direct questions about Irving’s status, Gilbert would not provide any specifics about recent conversations with him or his agent. Gilbert said he expected the 25-year-old, whose jumper in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena propelled Cleveland past the Warriors and to the city’s first major pro championship since the Browns in 1964, to be at training camp with the team in September.
“Right now, Kyrie Irving is under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers for two or three years, depending on the last year,” Gilbert said. “As of now, he’s one of our best players and sure, we expect him to be in camp.”
Gilbert was clearly attempting to avoid making things worse for the Cavs or doing any further damage to the club’s relationship with Irving, who has blossomed into the one of the league’s best backcourt players.
Though Irving might want out, the Cavs aren’t obligated to move him and new general manager Koby Altman said Irving remains an important part of the team.
“He’s a core piece of what we’ve done,” said Altman, who was promoted to full-time GM after subbing when David Griffin left this summer. “Kyrie is a tremendous player. He has made great contributions to this franchise and we enjoy him as a player. We’re going to keep this stuff in house in terms of what was said in those meetings, but he continues to be a core piece of who we are and what we do.”
It has been turbulent summer for the Cavs, who were beaten in five games by Golden State in the Finals. The bumpy ride began with Griffin parting ways with the club over philosophical differences with Gilbert, who then was rebuffed in adding former NBA guard Chauncey Billups to his front office.
And though numerous teams got stronger via free agency, Cleveland was hamstrung financially by salary-cap issues.
Then, the Irving trade demand was a cannonball in Gilbert’s basketball pool.
“Well, how is your guys’ summer going?” Gilbert quipped in a lighthearted moment.
Billups told ESPN that he unexpectedly pulled out of the running for the Cavs’ GM job partially because he knew Irving wanted to be traded. The 2004 NBA Finals MVP said he learned of the point guard’s discontent while doing his “due diligence” on the Cavs.
“I knew so much about the situation that the rest of the world doesn’t know,” Billups said. He added that Irving’s trade request “didn’t surprise” him, but he said it was “unfortunate.” Briefly: Phoenix signed big man Alan Williams, a restricted free agent, to a three-year, $17 million contract . ... Washington signed guard John Wall to a previously announced $170 million, four-year contract extension that begins in 201920.