Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson weighed in on Kyrie Irving’s trade request with unusual candor upon hearing it.
Jefferson actually learned of the trade request while recording an episode of his Road Trippin’ podcast, and was quite honest in his assessment, including a look at why Irving might feel that he wants out and how speculation about LeBron James may be a factor.
“This is what I will say about this, and by the time this gets out and whenever we air this in a few days, I don’t know. I don’t feel like there’s a power struggle with LeBron and Kyrie and [Kevin Love],” Jefferson said, via Ben Rohrbach of Ball Don’t Lie. “I think Kyrie is a hyper-intelligent kid — really, really smart, doesn’t get enough credit for how smart he is — and I think seeing that the franchise is in flux, I think seeing [Cavaliers GM David Griffin] leave and the amount of coaches, I think Kyrie has had a much tougher time in this stretch of the organization than anyone ever really wants to fully [realize].
“He was a No. 1 pick right after LeBron, then he has three different coaches, then LeBron comes back, now there’s trade rumors, now it’s ‘LeBron’s leaving.’ At some point in time, anybody would want some sort of stability, even if it’s the unknown. I don’t know if he asked to be traded. I don’t know this, but I will say that he’s had a tougher time, if you look at his start to where we are right now, of the ups and downs of a franchise, more than most. Even though we’ve been successful and even though we’ve won a championship and he’s been an All-Star, there’s still so much of a wave, and to be like, ‘Yo, we’re going to sit here for a whole year on whether or not LeBron’s coming back,’ that’s got to be tough on anybody — everybody.”
Griffin’s departure may have been a far bigger factor than was realized at the time in all this. For an organization as successful as the Cavaliers have been over the last three years, there has been a remarkable amount of instability involved. Jefferson’s thoughts may well be close to the truth.
