LeBron James: Big claim made by NBA expert over Kyrie Irving trade
LEBRON JAMES ‘sacrificed what he is’ in order to keep Kyrie Irving at the Cleveland Cavaliers, it has been alleged.
Irving left the Cavaliers in 2017 after helping the team to their first NBA Championship in 2016.
He reportedly left for the Boston Celtics in a bid to be the leader of a franchise, as he had been playing second fiddle to James in Cleveland.
This was after Irving made the winning shot in the 2016 NBA Finals against the Warriors to seal their championship win.
Last week, James claimed it was ‘not his problem regarding whether Irving wanted to leave or not.
He claimed he “gave him whatever I could and more” to get Irving to stay.
And NBA expert Shannon Sharpe explained that this was something that Michael Jordan would never have done.
“The main reason was that Kyrie wanted to leave and have his own team,” he said.
“He knew that wouldn’t happen so long as LeBron was there.
“I don’t really know what other sacrifices LeBron could have made to accommodate Kyrie.
“LeBron surpassed who he naturally was in order to keep Kyrie happy.
“He let Kyrie close out games.
“Kyrie’s last year in Cleveland he shot 1 and a half times more.
“Would Michael Jordan ever do that? Would he ever let Scottie Pippen shoot more times than him?
“What all-time-great would sacrifice who they truly are, which is the dog that takes the last shot?
“When Michael Jordan left, Scottie Pippen felt it was his job to be the top dog.
“And when Phil Jackson ran the final play in the Play-Offs for Tony Coucpoach instead of Pippen, Pippen refused to go into the game.”