#355. Kyrie Irving’s request was only a matter of time.

Josiah Ross
Jul 22, 2017 · 3 min read

Kyrie Irving’s whole life changed 3 years ago. 3 years ago, Irving was an up and coming player on an up and coming team. 3 years ago, LeBron decided he would go back to his hometown of Cleveland. The up and coming team was forced to contend for a championship. The new young star, Andrew Wiggins, was traded for Kevin Love. The coach that was supposed to take over and create a killer offense was fired a season and a half into the job.

Kyrie Irving began to accept these changes for the benefit of his legacy. After all, they won a championship, where he hit the biggest shot of the entire series. He had forty point game after forty point game, big shot after big shot, during those finals. Irving didn’t get the recognition he deserved. Nobody was talking about Kyrie, because every was focused on the King’s return to Akron. Everybody was focused on the King bringing a championship to the Land.

It’s almost an identical situation as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s split. It’s not exactly the same, however; Kobe Bryant was playing on Shaq’s team since the time he stepped on the court. Just as LeBron is, O’Neal was the most dominant force on the planet. Just as Kobe was, Kyrie was outshone by the bigger more experienced star.

The Lakers traded Shaq, but don’t expect the Cavaliers to trade LeBron James. LeBron is from Akron. LeBron was set to wear a Cavs jersey in high school.

As the Cavaliers are falling apart, the Warriors are only getting stronger. Kevin Durant is now a shot blocker. Steph Curry is now the richest man in basketball. Omri Casspi and Nick Young round out their wonderful bench. Draymond is still hungry. Klay is only getting better.

Meanwhile , LeBron is getting older. Kevin Love is getting older and tossed around in trade rumors. Their bench is getting worse; their one bench pickup midseason didn’t contribute at all. What’s worse, they have the worst cap situation in the league.

Kyrie saw no end in sight. If LeBron leaves next summer, Kyrie will be stuck with an aging team with a terrible cap situation. He’ll be back in the lottery. He’s been there. He’s done that. He doesn’t want to go back, he wants to win championships. But he wants to win those championships as the star, not second fiddle to the best player on the planet. Playing second fiddle is okay when rings are piling up, but when the losing continues, second fiddle gets lonely.

The up and coming star is now a legend. A champion. And he doesn’t want to play second fiddle. And he isn’t going to be left with a shell of an organization when LeBron skips town next summer.


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Daily Cup of Jo

Daily thoughts, ideas, and commentaries from Josiah Ross

Josiah Ross

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18 year old writer. Trying to change the world. nagiyd.com Email: rossjosiah13@gmail.com

Daily Cup of Jo

Daily thoughts, ideas, and commentaries from Josiah Ross

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