It's a testament to the Indians' success that even the Cavs folder has turned into a Tribe discussion!

Back to the Cavs, I will say that the whole Kyrie thing will probably add some interest to the regular season for the Cavs as they find and work to perfect a new way to operate without him.

So for the conspiracy theorists who think Kyrie hates Lebron or something here's pretty good proof it was not true - Kyrie himself

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2053 ... tivational

Kyrie asked out of Cleveland because he was not happy about playing with LeBron and having LeBron control everything. If you listened or watched the interview Kyrie repeatedly said this was about being happy. He was asked about leaving money on the table in Cleveland. His answer was that no amount of money can buy happiness.

I'm not going to say he hates LeBron but he does not like the way every decision the Cavs make is based on LeBron.

Kyrie specifically said he was blessed to be going to a team with a great culture. He did not say history. Kyrie wanted to go to a team run by a great coach and not by an egotistical superstar.

This whole notion of Kyrie wanting his own team is made up by the media. Kyrie never said it......

I totally get why Kyrie would want out from the shadow of Lebron.

At the same time he expressed gratitude for all he gained under him.

He did this right.

REPORT | Cleveland Cavaliers lost money during 2016-17 NBA season
Ben Axelrod, WKYC 2:47 PM. EDT September 19, 2017


CLEVELAND - For the third straight season, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference title. But while the Cavs did plenty of winning on the court, the franchise wound up a loser on the balance sheet.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe, Cleveland was one of nine NBA teams to lose money during the 2016-17 campaign. A year prior, the Cavs lost $40 million in their 2016 championship season, according to Forbes.

The biggest culprit responsible for Cleveland's current financial predicament appears to be the NBA's revenue-sharing system, which punishes teams like the Cavs that possess higher payrolls.

Per Windhorst and Lowe:

The Cavs made $21.7 million in net income before revenue sharing last season but moved into the red after paying $24.8 million in luxury taxes and $15.2 million in a revenue-sharing check they wrote.

Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert's $21.7 million luxury tax bill was the result of the $126.5 million payroll the franchise possessed throughout the 2016-17 season, which was well above the $113.2 million luxury tax threshold. In 2016, Gilbert paid a $54 million luxury tax bill, the second-highest ever in NBA history.

In recent months, the Cavs have netted new revenue streams, including a jersey logo sponsorship with Goodyear and an extended partnership with the Cleveland Clinic. Another deep playoff run would also help matters, as according to Windhorst and Lowe, the team made $20 million during this past postseason.

Per the report, the other teams who operated at a loss were the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards. Despite finishing with the league's third-worst record, the Los Angeles Lakers led the NBA with a $115 million profit last season.

The apparent gap between the NBA's profitable teams and those losing money is expected to be a primary discussion point at the NBA's Board of Governors meeting at the end of this month.

I gotta say fellas, I listened to Mike and Mike this morning, then watched Drennan this evening. (Jeff Phelps who hosts Cavaliers pregame sitting in for Drennan) and I don't think I heard anybody that agrees with you guys. National guys on Mike and Mike and all the Cavs fans calling into local show seemed to all agree on the opposite.

It was pretty clear that Kyrie saw he looked terrible through all this, and had some handlers help him come up with an excuse to save some face.

I said at the time there was no way Kyrie comes out looking anything but bad in this, and I never heard anything to change my mind. That's just my two pennies.

As bad as Kyrie looks though, Boston looks even worse. They were totally fleeced. They traded Crowder, a young big, a 2nd round pick, and an awesome 1st rounder to swap a PG that averaged 29 3 and 6 for another PG that averaged 25 3 and 6. Both are terrible defenders.

Only way Boston comes out of this looking better than Kyrie is if Thomas never returns to form.

Besides Crowder they also lost a great defender and pretty solid player in Bradley. They added Hayward, who is an under rated player for sure. I always liked him. But they are no championship contender. Kyrie is no superstar to carry them to finals. Lebron's road to Golden State will be easier this year.

I am with Hillbilly on this one. James is a prima dona, no doubt. (So are most true super-star athletes.) But he has earned the right to have teams built around him and to be consulted on any big moves in personnel. Kyrie has earned his salary and the honor to be part of a championship caliber team. But he does not seem to have any real leadership ability.

like James, Kyrie is too self-impressed. But, unlike James, he has not shown that he can lead a team to anything other than a mediocre record. The Cavs virtually never won any games with Kyrie in and LeBron out.

Kyrie's comments last year about the world being flat and his attitude about answering questions with any specificity about his reasons for doing it and his plan of action show an arrogance and an inclination to try to be too clever by half. That stuff wears thin fast, especially when the person doing it has yet to prove that he has standing to be so self-impressed.

He may prove to be the leader of a championship contending team some day, but I would not bet on it.

Very well stated. What I was thinking but put a lot more eloquently.

I would only add two minor things. 1, Not "virtually", Cavs were 0-8 in games James sat out last year. And were terrible the year before James came back home. And 2, I would add that I thought Kyrie was also very condescending in his answers as well.

His agent needs to get a better PR guy for spin.

Edit: I just looked it up. The Cavaliers are 4-23 in the 27 games LeBron has sat out the last 3 years. So looking over the past few years virtually was the exact way to put it. Non-existent was the way to put it for last year.

The pressure is all on Kyrie now. Celtic fans loved IT, and you know how tough Boston fans can be, so he had better perform, or he will be unhappier than he was in Cleveland. And you can bet that the local media will be on him every time he messes up.

Once again..... name one instance that Kyrie said anything about anything before actually being traded......

He did not. So the media speculated about why he would want to leave a winning situation and the great LeBron. Why ? Why ? Why ?

Kyrie, IMO, did not like playing with LeBron and David Griffin has basically said that in so many words.

Kyrie handled this exactly like a professional. LeBron or his camp leaked the information because LeBron did not want the message to be that a young superstar did not want to play with him because of his manipulative on and off the court dealings.

If Kyrie wanted his own team and wanted to be a chucker he would not have suggested teams with strong coaching staffs.

Kyrie wants to play for a team that is run by a coach or a front office and not the players.

Remember David Blatt was hired to help Kyrie improve.

Even when asked if he felt he could win without LeBron he took the high road and said time will tell.

Celtics fans have nothing to worry about. Cavs fans are the one that should start worrying. One way or another most likely the Cavs are headed to NBA oblivion. Might start this season. Great talent, combined with 2 unselfish players in Horford and Hayward and a great coach could be really good

And Kyrie won't be the leader of it.


Rusty, you keep asking us to tell you things that Kyrie didn't say before seeking to be traded, but we are talking about the attitude displayed by what he DID say once he bothered to say anything and when he agreed to talk with reporters.

I don't care whether he liked playing with Lebron and would have thought better of him had he simply said that. At least that would have been an honest answer that respected his audience's intelligence.

NBA oblivion? It seems that they've positioned themselves pretty well in case LeBron leaves with the acquired draft choice and this big guy from Croatia or Romania or wherever. That's what 'experts' have said. Still have Thompson, too, right? I don't recall: any other young core players for the "next generation"?

Oblivion compared to where they are now......

Peter , Kyrie is the leader of that team right now. Not sure how you missed that but watch his press conference in Boston.

What was wrong with his attitude on ESPN ?

I thought he was being as honest as possible without saying that LeBron is a complete self absorbed asshole. Kyrie is the only person that has had the balls to tell LeBron goodbye.

Bottom line is LeBron tried to get Kyrie traded for one of his buddies and got caught.

Kyrie said screw you and I want out. Really not that hard to understand.

I guess it is easier to bash Kyrie for LeBron's childish manipulative behavior.

Cleveland fans better get ready.