Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters used to be teammates together on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they did not have a good history together. In fact, one report says the two “always disliked each other.”
The Athletic published a story on Saturday that explores the odd circumstances through which Waiters, J.R. Smith, and LeBron James all find themselves as teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers.
James and Waiters were teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers for part of a season during LeBron’s return to Cleveland in 2014, but Waiters was traded during that season, and Smith was acquired as part of the deal. Now they’re all on the Lakers for the restart in Orlando.
In the article, which is worth your time, the reporters say that Waiters and Irving “always disliked each other.”
The Cavaliers made Irving the No. 1 pick in 2011 and Waiters the No. 4 overall pick in 2012. The evidence of the issues between Irving and Waiters came out as early as 2013, when Waiters reportedly called out Irving and Tristan Thompson in a team meeting and reportedly sought a trade. Former Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon even said in 2014 that Irving and Waiters clashed.
The issue is that Waiters is a confident guy who loves to shoot and believes he is better than almost anyone. He reportedly believed he was better than Irving and didn’t understand the organization favoring Kyrie.
Waiters started to have issues with his role on the Cavs, which was him coming off the bench because James did not like how he was a ballhog. He ended up being traded in January 2015. Two and a half years later, Irving forced his way out of Cleveland. LeBron left the year after Irving forced a trade to Boston.
Now, after just three games with Miami this year and a bunch of suspensions, Waiters will be trying to win a championship alongside James on the Lakers.
