The plot surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers continues to thicken. Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reported on Thursday that Kyrie Irving gave Cavs ownership an ultimatum this this offseason: trade him or he’d undergo knee surgery that would sideline him for the entirety of the 2017-18 season. Kyrie’s threat was apparently the tipping point, leading to his eventual trade to the Cavaliers.
Via Cleveland.com:
Irving’s desire and request to leave the Cavs last summer are well documented. Wanting to leave LeBron James’ shadow and the culture James dominated in Cleveland, upset that former general manager David Griffin was gone and miffed that the Cavs considered trading him to Indiana for Paul George, Irving asked owner Dan Gilbert to trade him.
Gilbert didn’t have to honor the request, though, as Irving had two years left on his contract. But according to multiple sources, Irving threatened to sit out the season and have surgery on his knee, convincing Gilbert and Cleveland’s front office that the relationship was not salvageable.
Irving’s agent, Jeff Wechsler, declined to discuss what was said to the Cavs with cleveland.com, and Gilbert did not personally respond to a request seeking comment.
Shortly after, Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics, who the Warriors will face off against on Saturday, for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and two draft picks.
Reportedly, Irving does need a minor follow up surgery to the procedure he underwent during the 2015 NBA Finals, which repaired his broken knee cap. Irving experiences swelling and day-to-day pain, but is not in immediate need of the surgery and appears to be playing fine without it, averaging 24.5 points per game and a shooting a career-high .477 from the field with the Celtics.