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Report: Kyrie Irving asked Cavaliers to trade him

USA Today Sports

That "peculiar" offseason just became a disastrous offseason.

Kyrie Irving met with the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this week and asked for a trade, sources told ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Irving wants to leave for a situation in which he is the focal point, and he no longer wants to play with LeBron James, Windhorst added. The request was directly to Cavaliers team owner Dan Gilbert.

James was reportedly blindsided and disappointed when he received the news. Other teammates also found out earlier this week.

Irving's agent Jeff Wechsler confirmed they met with Cavaliers ownership, but did not confirm nor deny the report.

"Kyrie and I had a meeting with Cavs leadership where we discussed many different scenarios in reference to Kyrie and his future with the team," Wechsler told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"The basis of those discussions and what went on in those discussions are between the Cavs and us. We are respectfully going to keep those private."

This continues a horrendous summer for the Cavaliers, who have not only failed to upgrade, but are actively backsliding. They lost general manager David Griffin, who was close with Irving and signed him to his five-year deal in 2014, failed to land either Jimmy Butler or Paul George, dropped a key veteran voice in James Jones, and reloaded with washed up veterans.

Cleveland is also deep into the luxury tax, short on four of their next six picks, have the oldest roster in the league, and still lack permanency in their rudderless front office.

It could easily get worse, since looming over the entire situation is the potential for James to flee in free agency in 2018. Given all that has unfolded in recent weeks, James cannot be happy.

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