http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20124505/kyrie-irving-seeking-trade-cleveland-cavaliers

Kyrie Irving is ready to end his run with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as league sources told ESPN that the guard has asked the team to trade him.

The request came last week and was made to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Irving has expressed that he wants to go play in a situation where he can be a more focal point and no longer wants to play alongside LeBron James, sources said.

Irving's agent Jeff Wechsler would not confirm or deny whether Irving asked for a trade.

"Kyrie and I had a meeting with Cavs leadership where we discussed many different scenarios in reference to Kyrie and his future with the team," Wechsler told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. "The basis of those discussions and what went on in those discussions are between the Cavs and us. We are respectfully going to keep those private."

The Cavaliers parted with general manager David Griffin last month after they couldn't come to an agreement on a contract extension. Cleveland has yet to name Griffin's replacement, and franchise centerpiece James has reportedly expressed concern about the team's direction.

James was informed of Irving's request and was blindsided and disappointed, sources said. Other members of the team have learned of Irving's intentions in recent days as well.
News of the request comes days after Irving told Sports Illustrated that the Cavaliers were in a "peculiar" place this offseason.

"I understand we're in a very peculiar place," Irving told the magazine. "We just have to, you know, make sure that all our pieces are aligned first, and then we go from there. It's the summertime, a lot of craziness going on in the NBA."

Irving has been with the Cavaliers since they made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft. After miring through three losing seasons, Irving and the Cavaliers' fortunes changed with the return of James. The Big Three of James, Irving and Kevin Love have reached the past three NBA Finals, winning the title in 2016.

How to handle Irving's situation is clearly complex for the Cavs, as James can be a free agent next summer. Irving has three years and $60 million left on his contract, but he can opt out of the final year before the 2019-20 season.

By asking for a trade, Irving would be willingly giving up the chance to qualify and sign a "supermax" contract with the Cavs in 2019. This provision, installed in the just started collective bargaining agreement, was meant to deter star players from leaving their teams as they came up on their third contract. This is when numerous stars want to move, as has played out with Kevin Durant, Gordon Hayward and Paul George.

After winning the Eastern Conference title in May, Irving described his closeness with James and how staying together can benefit them.

"When you get to that level of trust and you allow someone to come into a friendship that extends well off the court," Irving said, "and you understand how great this era can be if we are selfless to the point where we don't think about anything else except for the greatness of our team and what we can accomplish."

Irving had a good relationship with Griffin, who was a point man in selling Irving on a five-year contract extension in 2014 despite the team coming off four consecutive losing seasons.

Griffin understood Irving's desires for his career had to be managed and worked regularly both to challenge Irving and, at times, soothe him. Coach Tyronn Lue is also a strong supporter of Irving and has been a strong defender when his game -- which was sometimes more shoot first than pass first for a point guard -- came under criticism.

When Irving signed his deal, he expected to be the franchise player for the foreseeable future. But about two weeks later, James arrived from Miami. The sudden change of situation rocked Irving, and he has vacillated at times over the past three years about working as a secondary star to James and the original plan of having his own team.

He discussed the challenge during last month's NBA Finals.

"Having just a tremendously great player like that come to your team and you see yourself being one of those great players eventually and then he ends up joining it and then now you have to almost take a step back and observe," Irving said. "Finding that balance is one of the toughest things to do because you have so much belief and confidence in yourself. ... Selfishly, I always wanted to just show everyone in the whole entire world exactly who I was every single time."

With this in mind, Irving considered requesting a trade following the Cavs championship last season but decided against it, sources said.

Irving, a four-time All-Star, has assembled some terrific numbers during his six-year career. Last season, he averaged a career-high 25.2 points and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 40.1 percent on 3-pointers. For his career, he has averaged 21.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.

However, Irving has not excelled when playing without James. Last season, the Cavs were outscored by 90 points in 574 minutes when Irving played and James didn't. In the playoffs, they were outscored by 30 points in 61 minutes. In the Finals against the Golden State Warriors, the Cavs were outscored 37-13 when Irving was on the court and James was off.

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