Kevin Love Responds to LeBron James-Kyrie Irving Call, Deletes Tweet

Kevin Love trade Lakers Knicks

Getty Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love

When the news came that Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving had called LeBron James recently to offer an apology of sorts, it opened more than a few eyes. But what happened from there has quickly led to some questions about the actual situation. Shortly after the phone call between Irving and James, it to light that Kevin Love was with LeBron around the time of the call.

The Athletic’s Joe Vardon posted the original report, but parts of the story have since been denied by Love in a post on social media. During that same post, the Cleveland Cavaliers forward sent some love to both Irving and James.

*Note: Love deleted the tweet shortly after posting it, but here’s a screenshot from his account.

Kevin Love


The Story Behind LeBron James & Kyrie Irving

The whole situation gets far more interesting when you look into the story a bit, as it cites specific quotes from Love on the situation. Vardon stated that the forward was with James, Rich Paul, Lynn Merritt, head of Nike Basketball, and multiple others at an “upscale pizzeria in Los Angeles” at the time.

“LeBron looked down at his phone and he showed us,” Love told The Athletic, describing the scene. “He was like, ‘I wonder what he wants?’”

In this story, The Athletic writer says James “definitely showed the call history to Love,” although he was unsure if the call came at the table or if the Los Angeles Lakers star missed it. This seems to be what Love wanted to clear up to some extent. Vardon then revealed a quote from the Cavaliers forward which includes him stating LeBron showed the phone.

“Yeah, I haven’t really absorbed all of it yet,” Love told The Athletic. “I was always close with Kyrie, we had a good relationship. I don’t know, I was having some vino and enjoying the night when LeBron showed me the call.”


Kyrie Irving’s Apology

The news of Irving’s apology came after the Celtics had defeated the Toronto Raptors Wednesday. It stemmed from Irving’s recent back-and-forth with teammates about Boston’s recent struggles. Following a loss to the Orlando Magic, Keith Smith of Yahoo! Sports quoted Irving stating that the young guys “don’t know what it takes to be a championship level team.”

“The young guys don’t know what it takes to be a championship level team. What it takes every day. And if they think it is hard now, what do they think it will be like when we’re trying to get to the Finals?” Irving stated, per Smith.

It’s obviously interesting as these aren’t the same exact comments previously made by James about Irving when the two played together with the Cavaliers, but are somewhat similar. Regardless, it seems Irving had a moment of clarity and best of all, Vardon and The Athletic cited that LeBron was “very appreciative” that the Celtics guard called him.

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