In the immediate aftermath of the blockbuster trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, all sorts of rumors and accusations have come to the surface regarding both players. For instance, Chris Broussard, citing anonymous sources, tried to claim on Wednesday that Thomas wasn’t as well liked among his teammates as you might have thought.
On the other end of the trade, despite previous rumors that Irving had given his teammates the silent treatment during the playoffs this spring, a new report now claims that many in the Cavs locker room were holding out hope that he might hash things out with LeBron and stay in Cleveland after all, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports there were some on the Cavs wishing for one more run with the same crew.
Multiple Cavs players told ESPN they hoped Irving would remain on the team, believing they could work out their differences like a family and have another crack at beating the Warriors together.
In recent weeks, that idea became unrealistic, as Irving let it be known that he would rather not report to training camp than begin another season with Cleveland, sources told ESPN.
It’s a moot point now, of course, but it still flies in the face of the idea that there was some sort of widespread disconnect. Both teams can now turn their attention to trying to capture the Eastern Conference crown next season so that they can more than likely be rewarded with a Finals showdown with the Golden State Warriors.
(ESPN.com)
