The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Irving looks for solo pastures

FILE+-+In+this+Feb.+27%2C+2017%2C+file+photo%2C+Cleveland+Cavaliers+Kyrie+Irving+talks+with+a+teammate+in+the+first+half+of+an+NBA+basketball+game+against+the+Milwaukee+Bucks+in+Cleveland.+Two+people+familiar+with+the+situation+says+All-Star+guard+Kyrie+Irving+has+asked+the+Cavaliers+to+trade+him.+Irving+made+the+request+last+week+to+owner+Dan+Gilbert%2C+said+the+persons+who+spoke+Friday%2C+July+21%2C+2017%2C++to+the+Associated+Press+on+condition+of+anonymity+because+the+team+is+not+commenting+on+the+star%E2%80%99s+demands.++%28AP+Photo%2FTony+Dejak%2C+File%29
AP
FILE – In this Feb. 27, 2017, file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving talks with a teammate in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks in Cleveland. Two people familiar with the situation says All-Star guard Kyrie Irving has asked the Cavaliers to trade him. Irving made the request last week to owner Dan Gilbert, said the persons who spoke Friday, July 21, 2017, to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team is not commenting on the star’s demands. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

The Kyrie Irving problem is gaining a lot of attention and could potentially decide how Irving will be remembered as a professional basketball player. As we get deeper into the NBA off-season, it seems as if the tension and drama grow.

By Adam Hensley

[email protected]

On July 21, news broke that Cleveland Cavalier All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving wanted to be traded. This came as a shock to players and fans alike; Irving is one of the league’s most electrifying players and currently resides on a championship-caliber team.

Why would he have any desire to leave one of the league’s best teams and no longer be teammates with LeBron James, one of the greatest players of all time?

Irving wants to make a name for himself, plain and simple.

He’s attempting to build his legacy, and fans shouldn’t knock him for it. If Irving stays in Cleveland, which could happen, because the Cavaliers control his destiny at the moment, he wouldn’t be remembered as “the guy” in the team’s success. James would.

When the Cavaliers took down the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals in 2016, everyone remembers James’ monster block on Andre Iguodala late in the game, and often that play overshadows Irving’s game-winning 3-pointer with under a minute to play in game 7.

That’s just a microcosm of what Irving’s legacy will be if he stays in Cleveland under James’ shadow.

Irving was the go-to playmaker when the Cavaliers drafted him, and he signed his current contract thinking the organization would build around him. Then James returned to Cleveland.

“He thought he was signing up for five years of a team being built through the point guard,” ESPN’s NBA reporter Brian Windhorst said on “Pardon the Interruption.” “David Griffin had just been named general manager, and he sold him on building a team in Cleveland like [Griffin] had in Phoenix. All the year he was there, they built around Steve Nash — that’s what Irving thought he was signing up for.”

James returned, of course, and Irving saw a reduced role; he was no longer the top player.

He’s a great player. Those degrading Irving’s trade value, saying he couldn’t perform when he was the prime scorer in his early days, are wrong. Irving’s game has improved immensely since those days, and it wasn’t all his fault that the Cavaliers failed to make the playoffs in the post-LeBron era.

Now, Irving is in his prime. It doesn’t always show, because the team flows through James, but from time to time, Irving will take over games.

When he commands the ball and runs the show, he’s almost impossible to stop.

Just ask the Boston Celtics, who lost to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. In Game 4, Boston commanded a 10-point halftime lead and looked as though it could even the series at two games apiece.

Irving had other plans, and he dropped 42 points on the Celtics, including 21 in the third quarter. He scored the Cavaliers’ final 14 points in the third, and Boston had no answer defensively.

“It was difficult for him to balance wanting to be the central player and playing with an all-time great player,” Windhorst said.

The NBA is becoming a “super-team” league, and teams need at least two or three star-caliber players to compete for a title.

Irving wants to do it on his own.

It appears he doesn’t want to be remembered as James’ sidekick, a talented player who never had the keys to a team in his prime, but rather a player who built his own legacy.

It’s a tough conclusion to come to, but a respectable one nevertheless.

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