Kyrie Irving's request to be traded fro the Cleveland Cavaliers was reportedly due to a meeting between the franchise's front office personnel regarding his future, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
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According to the report, the contingent held a "what if?" discussion was described as "small talk" and "less a formal straw poll of what the Cavs should do with their All-Star point guard should trade opportunities present themselves," as well as analyzing the market for Irving.
Per ESPN's report:
"The talk got back to Irving, multiple team sources told ESPN, and that served as the tipping point that led to Irving formally requesting a trade a little more than two weeks later.
"'It was sloppy,' one league source familiar with the draft-day discussion told ESPN, adding that any talk about trading a player of Irving's ilk — however informal it might be — should be handled strictly between the GM and owner, because of the sensitive nature of its content. Once a player feels expendable or undervalued from his own team, getting him to buy back in is a prickly proposition."
The move itself was a head-scratcher as Cleveland shipped one of its best players to — even at the time — its biggest threat in the Eastern Conference for several players who are no longer with the team as of the trade deadline.
Clearly, the move has worked out a lot better for Irving than the Cavaliers, who didn't seem to do enough analysis on his market value based on the outcome.
