Irving’s won a championship with LeBron. Now, he can try his hand at carving his legacy with a team of his own.
Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the Cavaliers team he helped to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and its lone championship in 2016.
His reasoning?
Irving wants to play in a situation where he can be the team’s focal point. As a result, the All-Star point guard no longer wants to play alongside LeBron James, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
On its surface, the idea of Irving ditching the world’s best player is bizarre. After all, if it weren’t for James, Irving wouldn’t have the playoff experience or championship ring that followed The King’s return to Cleveland.
But as odd as it may sound, the idea of Irving wanting out to forge a legacy of his own makes sense. Kyrie’s time is now, while James’s window for greatness is closing. In a league where power players force power moves — see Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul trades — the time is now for Irving to make his.
There’s a palpable age disparity between Cleveland’s two All-Stars.
James will be 33 years old in December. He’s played 14 years in the NBA and has accrued more than 50,000 combined regular season and playoff minutes worth of mileage on the court.
Irving, on the other hand, is 25 years old and won’t turn 26 until next March. The All-Star starter is in the peak of his prime, averaging 25 points and six assists as essentially an off guard, if we consider LeBron Cleveland’s point guard.
While Irving is just entering the prime of his career, James is at the tail end. He’s the NBA’s best player, but year after year, decade after decade, and century after century, Father Time remains undefeated. Plus, there’s no guarantee James was ever going to stay in Cleveland past this year anyway.
For those reasons, it doesn’t make sense for Irving to remain James’ sidekick, especially when there’s no clear path to upgrade the roster in hopes of toppling a Warriors team fresh off the best playoff run in NBA history. While the Celtics drew closer to superteam status, adding Gordon Hayward and talented rookie Jayson Tatum, the Cavs added Jeff Green and Jose Calderon.
LeBron is an otherworldly athlete. His body may have been chiseled by Michelangelo himself, and The King’s cerebral instincts are matched by none.
As a result, he is the sole on-court decision-maker for his teams. He’s the alpha and the omega; the beginning and the end. We saw it with Chris Bosh, whose game suffered when he left Toronto to join forces with LeBron in Miami.
"You just get your entree and that's it,” Bosh told Bleacher Report in 2014, comparing offensive opportunities alongside James to a full-course meal. “It's like, wait a minute, I need my appetizer and my dessert and my drink, what are you doing? And my bread basket. What is going on? I'm hungry!”
Kyrie is hungry, and he wants the meal he never got
He’s hungry to be the face of a team he can call his own. He’s hungry to lead his own supporting cast. He’s hungry for a new challenge after winning with James. And he’s hungry to forge a legacy of his own, not ride on the coattails of James, who — like it or not — is at the tail end of his prime.
He’s also hungry for what he couldn’t devour earlier in his career. Remember: Irving never signed up to play with James in the first place. He agreed to a five-year contract extension on July 1, 2014 with the idea Cleveland would build around him. LeBron announced his desire to return to his hometown 10 days later, and Irving’s been relegated to a sidekick role ever since.
Remember too that the All-Star guard also has his own signature shoe with Nike. Irving sold the second-most sneakers in the NBA last season, according to Forbes. Who do you think ranked No. 1?
If Irving landed in a big-time market, like a New York, Los Angeles, or Miami, he’d be the star of the show and could ultimately supplant James as the sneaker world’s breadwinner.
Playing on LeBron’s time has paid off for Irving so far. He’s won an NBA championship and has three years of NBA Finals experience. He’s had the chance to study one of the best to ever do it, and he played Robin to LeBron’s Batman in their successful Finals run two years ago.
But Irving has a chance now to move on his own time. He has a chance to forge his legacy with players his age in any of his preferred destinations, which include New York, San Antonio, Minnesota, and Miami.
The All-Star guard has his championship ring. He’s won Olympic gold medals, won All-Star MVP at the second-youngest age (behind LeBron, of course) and has proven to have the killer mentality needed to forge a legacy of his own.
Irving was denied the chance to be a franchise player years ago when LeBron returned to Cleveland. Now, it’s time for Kyrie to look out for himself. There’s nothing wrong with that.
