Getty Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Well before LeBron James was in Los Angeles trying to lure Kyrie Irving away from Brooklyn; before Irving demanded out of yet another team he forced his way to, both James and Irving were teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While the two might have hoped to link up before this season’s trade deadline, the blood wasn’t always so clean.
Kendrick Perkins, a former champ and teammate of Irving and James in Cleveland, revealed recently that Irving’s decision to leave Cleveland for the Celtics ‘hurt’ the NBA legend.
“LeBron did everything in his power to try to embrace Kyrie as a little brother and show him the way,” Perkins said on Brian Windhorst & the Hoop Collective.
“Kyrie was just like rebellious, ‘No, I’m not doing this. No, I’m not coming to team dinners.’ … He was always doing his own thing. It hurt Bron when Kyrie left. It hurt Bron to know some of the things that Kyrie said before he left to go off to Boston, before he demanded that trade. Because Bron did everything in his power,” Perkins concluded.
It appears that bad blood is all in the rearview, now, however. Before Irving was traded to the Mavericks, James tried hard to lobby the Lakers to bring Irving to SoCal.
Perkins: Evan Has Failed ‘to Take That Leap’
This isn’t the first time that Perkins has taken aim at the Cavaliers this season. A month ago, Perkins set his sights on Cavs big man Evan Mobley, bemoaning the fact that the sophomore hasn’t taken a big year two leap.
“We’ve been waiting on Evan Mobley to take that leap like in the conversation with elite bigs. High expectations. I’m talking about a guy that’s 18, 20 and 10. At least flirting around with DeAndre Ayton-type numbers,” Perkins said on NBA Today.
While he hasn’t quite eclipsed his play from last season, Mobley at least hasn’t backslid. The former USC Trojan is scoring 15.6 points and bringing down 8.9 rebounds per game. He’s also first in defensive win shares this season, a crucial reason why the Cavs have the league’s best defense.
Nonetheless, Perkins isn’t impressed, arguing Mobley is ‘key’ to the Cavs unlocking Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell’s full potential.
“If he doesn’t take that next leap, and he doesn’t start to grow in areas that we expect him to grow in, then, to be honest, we’re going to be wasting time watching this dynamic backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland,” Perkins said. “He is the key. What was he, the second or third pick in the draft? And one could argue that he should have been the first pick?”
Cavs Reverse Course on Kevin Love
Off the floor, the Cavs appear to be parting ways with a franchise legend. Despite initial reports that Kevin Love was likely not facing a buyout, the Cavs are now reportedly finalizing a buyout with the former champ.
The buyout negotiations nearing a conclusion were first reported by Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd of The Atheltic. They also mentioned a potential suitor for Love in the Miami Heat, who are five games back of the Cavs in the Eastern Conference standings.
“The Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Love are finalizing a contract buyout, with the Miami Heat expected to emerge as a suitor for the five-time All-Star should the sides finalize parting ways,” Charania and Lloyd wrote.
In addition to the Heat, Love will likely have other teams interested in acquiring his services. A reunion with LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers would be interesting and the Golden State Warriors could also utilize his unique skill set.
Love had struggled to make the rotation for Cleveland lately, fueling speculation around a potential buyout.