IT'S EARLY DECEMBER, a cold, gray day in Boston, and Kyrie Irving sits on a bench at the Celtics practice facility in Waltham, explaining how he came to the decision that it was time for him to get out of Cleveland.

"[Leaving] was inevitable," he says in his first extensive comments since the trade. "I could feel it."

For many, the swap from the Cavaliers to the Celtics last August was vexing. Irving was a champion on a contending franchise with a transcendent star, LeBron James. Who walks away from that?

What they didn't know was Cleveland had explored trading Kyrie in June, long before he asked out, a fact conveniently omitted when word of his demand leaked. Irving made the decision to remain silent while the details of his request were, in his word, "distorted."

"I didn't feel the need to say anything because I knew the truth, and so did they," he says. "So it didn't matter what others said."

Still, for a split second, Irving winces, as though someone has pricked him with a pin.

"They didn't want me there," he says.

Seven days later in Cleveland, James has just put the finishing touches on a win over Atlanta, the Cavaliers' 15th victory in their past 16 games. He conveys through the Cleveland public relations staff that he has already addressed Irving's departure and will decline to answer questions regarding their relationship. Now, as he stands near his locker at Quicken Loans Arena, he's asked about Irving's contention that the Cavs didn't want him.

"That makes absolutely no sense," James declares.

Asked to elaborate, James smiles politely, slings his bag over his shoulder and exits the arena.

Came away last night very optimistic about the Cavs chances at another Finals appearance after seeing limited time from IT last night. IT looks 100% to me. And to me, as long as IT could get back to 100%, it would be a wonderful trade for Cavs.

Kyrie Irving - G - Celtics

Kyrie Irving said part of the reason he decided to leave the Cavs was that he felt like they didn't want him there.

"[Leaving Cleveland] was inevitable," Irving said. "I could feel it... They didn't want me there." Irving reportedly caught wind of the Cavs front office including his name in trade talks back in June, which was a factor in prompting him to request a trade out of Cleveland.

For what it's worth when LeBron James was asked about Irving's assertion that the Cavs didn't want him he simply responded: "That makes absolutely no sense." Tonight should be a fun matchup between the two former teammates in Boston, and Irving is on the DFS radar under the revenge game narrative.

the bench is so deep they could play a solid 3rd 5-man unit. Frye is out of the rotation. If Rose ever recovers there's no room for him. Calderon did a surprisingly nice job as point fill-m but will soon probably anchored to the bench. Osman has showed some ability in his time on the court, too. Zizic would be getting minutes on a young rebuilding team.

1. LeBron James watched in disbelief as Browns fans circled the stadium Saturday while braving subzero temperatures in a mock parade of the team’s 0-16 season. Although he’s a professional athlete, James didn’t have a problem with the stunt.

2. “I got a kick out of it,” James told The Athletic. “I can’t even sit here and say that I didn’t. You know how you see some shit and you’re like, ‘That’s not really happening, right?’ And it’s so bad that it’s laughable. So when I seen the video at Browns Stadium, I was more like, ‘I cannot believe this is actually happening.’ And it actually happened.”

3. James believes the Cavs’ championship in 2016 and the real parade that drew more than 1 million fans into the city’s downtown streets made what happened Saturday a little more plausible. He even compared the Browns’ parade to the movie spoofs that have become popular in Hollywood.

4. “Our fans have seen a true parade,” James said. “You know what that reminded me of? Hollywood makes these movies, right? So think of ‘Scream.’ And then another group of people make ‘Scary Movie,’ which is the spoof of ‘Scream.’ That’s exactly what this is. That was the spoof of our parade. It made fun of the actual thing. It’s not like they were targeting us as the Cavs, but that’s what happens. It’s like a Hollywood thing. I love ‘Scream’ and I love ‘Scary Movie.’ ”

5. Not everyone shares James’ feelings, of course. Browns defensive players Emmanuel Ogbah and Danny Shelton were among those critical of the roughly 3,000 fans who attended. While James understands the players’ frustration, he believes it is misguided.

6. “Fuck yeah, I’d be pissed,” James said when asked how he’d feel if he were a player on the team. “But how are you going to be pissed at the fans? It’s not like they don’t show up. I mean, damn. It’s 1-31. If our fans decided they want to have a fucking parade and we were 1-31 the last two years? You can’t be mad at that. It’s fucked up. I understand that as a player, but you’ve got to try to fix that shit. It could be worse. How ’bout they just boycott a season until y’all win two games in a row?”

civ ollilavad wrote: If Rose ever recovers there's no room for him.

I do think with IT starting, there is room for Rose on the 2nd unit. Calderon can go back to reserve mode.

As well it was pointed out that Wade can take games off, Lebron can take games off once IT is up to speed.

Yesterday with IT starting, Calderon was back on the bench with the 3rd unit. They seem pretty happy with Wade leading the bench bunch.
It would be nice for Rose if he could return, but the team will certainly not count on that possibility.

Interesting that Osman continued to get minutes yesterday, FWIW I see his plus/minus was +13. While Korver was -20 and Green -27. What was the grouping on the floor with Osman?

Thomas is in a contract year and he wants to be paid. League executives and agents judging the market believe Thomas’ best chance at a significant contract this summer is with the Cavs and they believe he will proceed accordingly. – via ESPN
Top Rumors, Free Agency, Isaiah Thomas, Cleveland Cavaliers

That could be the case regardless of what happens with LeBron James’ free agency. In the event James decides to move on from Cleveland again, some believe the Cavs may still be interested in retaining Thomas as long as he proves he can return to his All-Star form. – via ESPN
Top Rumors, Free Agency, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Second, Gilbert loves underdogs like Thomas. He sees himself as an underdog, a self-made billionaire who went to Michigan State, not the Ivy League. In 2016, Gilbert was the driving force behind paying $2.4 million to buy a draft pick to take Kay Felder, an undersized point guard from Oakland University who attracted Gilbert because of his ability to overcome challenges. Felder didn’t make it with the Cavs, but Thomas is the embodiment of what the Cavs were dreaming of with Felder. – via ESPN

Coach Lue talked about players and agendas. What was he talking about ?

Ever notice that LeBron has a tendency to tank at this time of the year to get his way ?

Did it to get rid of the coach. Has done it for trades.

LeBron wants the Cavs to trade the Brooklyn pick for help now. Best way to get it done is to tank right now.

Report: Some Cavs believe LeBron James is assist hunting
By: Erik García Gundersen | 23 hours ago


Tyronn Lue called out the Cavaliers following their 34-point loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. Lue said that players need to get rid of ‘agendas’ and play the right way.


And apparently, there are some within the Cavs who anonymously wonder if their leader is sacrificing ball movement for stats, according to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon.

Players have grumbled that James has slowed the ball movement, holding onto the ball until he sees an “assist” pass, rather than moving it quickly.


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Now, some may look at James’ stats and notice this: he’s currently posting a career-best assist-percentage of 44.3%. James is currently 4th in the league in assists per game and 3rd in assist percentage.

And this is for a couple of reasons, and the biggest one is probably that the Cavs haven’t had healthy point guards for nearly half of the season.

Derrick Rose, the opening night starter, is still injured. Isaiah Thomas just got back from injury over a week ago. So the onus of playmaking has been more burdensome as ever.

It’s interesting to hear that some Cavaliers believe that he is hunting assists. It could be frustrations of losing coming to a head with players looking for somewhere, anywhere, for an answer.

But perhaps the only thing that can soothe the Cavs is getting back in the win column.

16. What seems clear at this point is Thomas is not Kyrie Irving in this series. Irving brought a killer mentality and the ability to dribble through two and three defenders for a bucket at a crucial time. Players on both teams Monday were quietly acknowledging that Irving’s absence has changed the entire complexion of this rivalry.

They were doing better with their 4th string point guard! But i'm hopeful that the blending of talents will just take awhile and then all be perfect again. Although not sure where the defense is going to come from?!

CLEVELAND -- Following the Cleveland Cavaliers' 118-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday, multiple players acknowledged growing discontent and a strong sense of concern that unlike past seasons, the team does not have the capability to fix its problems and get back on a championship track.

Several prominent players, speaking on condition of anonymity to ESPN, Cleveland.com and The Athletic, expressed doubt that the problems -- an aging roster, defensively challenged personnel and a glut of redundant role players -- could simply be worked out through patience and a chance to coalesce when fully healthy.

Interestingly, by the end of this season, the Cav front office might actually welcome Lebron moving on. (LOL, I know you love that one rusty)

The thing is, that pesky problem called the Warriors. When Durant went there, it effectively ended anyone's chance to win the title. So the Cavs are left with that aging roster put together to help Lebron get to the finish line with little chance to get it done. Cavs players are not stupid, they have to know that likely an Eastern Conference title followed by a Finals loss is upcoming...AGAIN! Oh, accompanied by a sleepwalk through the regular season....AGAIN!

Actually, if ONLY basketball were involved it would be time to trade him for a HAUL to a contender and begin life after Lebron - so that he doesn't walk. Because the Warriors are built to win it for a very long time.

To me it boils down to this. It is in the Cavs best interest to deal him - AND it is in Lebron's best interest to join another group (Houston? OKC? Boston? lol) with a better shot than the Cavs. There's a lot of teams that qualify for that.

Just got done listening to Windhorst say that the Cavs have a very "grumpy" LeBron on their hands. That LeBron wants the Cavs to do whatever they have to do to add better players including trading draft picks.

Mark, throughout this process I never thought that the Cavs would not win the East. Bottom line if they do not add an impact player I do believe that the Celtics will beat them in a series if they play. (I have never been a fan of the Celtics) Celtics have the better team and IMO at this time the better team player and better coach.