Kyrie Irving denied rumors he wanted out of Cleveland in 2014

In 2014 Kyrie Irving tweeted this before LeBron James joined him with the Cleveland Cavaliers (note the date).

Brian Windhorst, aka “Windy,” had a long interview about Kyrie on a Cavs blog.

The truth is [Kyrie’s] camp has been putting out there for years – years – that he doesn’t want to be in Cleveland. That they don’t want him in Cleveland. He doesn’t like Mike Brown. He didn’t like Chris Grant. He doesn’t like Dion Waiters. He’s already gotten a General Manager fired. He might get Mike Brown fired. This is the last time – once he signs he loses all of his leverage – so this is the last time he gets to enact leverage.

This story of unhappiness as a “second banana” may or may not be true, since Windy mentioned Irving wanting out of town before LeBron came home to Cleveland. Then James happened to Kyrie, coincidentally just days after Irving signed a five-year contract locking him into the situation. Strange timing.

And the other thing is: if the Cavs ever dream of having LeBron, it’s not going to be with Kyrie there. LeBron and Kyrie have drifted apart in the last few years, even to the point that if the Cavs wanted to get LeBron they would maybe trade Kyrie for someone who would fit better with LeBron. And I’m not making that up. That line of thinking was not originated by me. That’s just the truth.

Then Windhorst gives his unfiltered opinion of Irving’s value to his team: it’s not that flattering. No wonder some teams judge Kyrie’s market value seemingly way below his impressive scoring numbers.

I thought I knew Kyrie, but he’s just disappointed me this year with his immaturity. I really do think that if he will lock up for five that you have to do that. But if he starts messing around playing power games, you’ve got to trade him. Dan Gilbert has said as much. At the end of the day, if Kyrie was really a max player, this Cavs team would not be where they are. He would have carried them to much more than this. I’m not saying he has to be LeBron, but he’s only spent one day of his career above .500. I know it’s unpopular for some people, but after 2010 I’m not in the business of messing around. It’s definitely out there in the NBA that Kyrie is not happy in Cleveland – but if that’s not the case, he has a golden opportunity to prove everybody wrong and that opportunity is coming in a few months.

All this was said in 2014, but it sounds eerily similar to the current saga going on in Cleveland. Miami Heat are wisely being cautious on negotiating for the services of Irving, especially after signing a four-year deal with Dion Waiters.

Besides that, Irving has a long list of injuries for a young player, capped off with his debacle against Klay Thompson’s Golden State Warriors.

Picture credit: Cavsnation

Another compelling graphic, which fails as an embed, illustrates his many injuries.

In 2012 SBNation wrote,

Sorry in advance, Cleveland Cavaliers fans, for broaching this topic, but I'm sure it's a question many are asking today. With the news that Kyrie Irving will miss a month with a broken hand, it's worth wondering if the Cavaliers' star is especially susceptible to injuries. Or "injury-prone," as the kids like to say.

Why are we asking this question? This most recent injury is Irving's fifth since he stepped foot on Duke's campus just over two years ago. Five injuries in 24 months is a lot of injuries. Irving has insisted in the past that he's not injury-prone, which is the only thing he can do. But is he actually right?

The long odds for the Heat jumping all in on the Irving bandwagon could be a result of doing their due diligence and looking beyond his All-Star numbers in the stat sheets. Regardless of the outcome, this off-season has been anything but dull for the NBA.