Report: Kyrie went days without speaking to teammates during playoffs
Kyrie Irving may have dropped hints months ago that there was trouble in paradise Cleveland.
The Cavaliers' starting point guard gave his teammates the silent treatment for a few days between playoff rounds, according to ESPN's David McMenamin, who said on the "BBall Breakdown" podcast:
"In between the first round when they beat Indiana and the second round when they played Toronto - go consecutive days without speaking to a teammate at practice."
The Cavs swept the Pacers in the opening round, as well as the Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but eventually fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
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Since then, general manager David Griffin parted ways with the team, and Irving wants to follow suit, having requested a trade.
It's been reported that about 20 clubs have inquired about the 25-year-old All-Star, who provided Cleveland a list of his preferred teams despite not having a no-trade clause. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns in particular have been linked to Irving in trade rumors because they possess the assets Cleveland seeks in return.
It's believed that the Cavs want one or two veterans, a promising wing player, and some draft picks in exchange for Irving, and that if the Suns offered Eric Bledsoe, No. 4 pick Josh Jackson, and their 2018 first-rounder, the trade would "be done by now."
However, Phoenix is reportedly unwilling to surrender its prized rookie Jackson and would prefer to include Dragan Bender instead.
But McMenamin suggested that the Suns could be hesitant to make a move for Irving after hiring James Jones, who spent the past three years as a player with the Cavaliers, as VP of basketball ops since he knows more about Irving than most people and saw him disengage from the team during its latest postseason run.
The elite scorer and playmaker put up a career-best 25.2 points to go along with 5.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 2016-17, and has two guaranteed years remaining on his contract.