Irving, LeBron Fall-Out? It Was Just Media Talk, Ex-Cavaliers Trainer Says

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving played together with the Cleveland Cavaliers for three seasons and even won an NBA championship ring together beating the Golden State Warriors in 2016.

The duo also played in the NBA Finals in 2015, but went down to the same opponents, but Irving played just part of Game 1 as he suffered a knee injury during the game that ruled him out for the rest of the series.

Irving and James had formed a fine partnership in Cleveland and it came as a surprise when the former requested a trade away from the Cavaliers following the championship winning campaign.

It was widely reported Irving and the three-time NBA champion had a falling out, which is what resulted in the point guard asking for a trade. He was granted his wish and traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for a draft pick and players that included point guard Isiah Thomas.

However, the Cavaliers’ former high performance director Alex Moore has rubbished talks of a potential feud between Irving and James claiming the former just wanted to go in a different direction.

“There was no falling out. I think that's more media talk," Moore said, as per Yahoo Sports. "The locker room was totally fine. [Irving] just wanted to go in another direction."

Irving also seems to be a much happier person since joining the Celtics prior to the start of the 2017-18 NBA campaign. He was recently asked about his move from the Cavaliers and he held nothing back while stating: “I think it was the best thing I’ve done, honestly.”

It was no secret the Celtics point guard wanted to get away from under the shadow of James, who this summer also left the Cavaliers and joined the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year deal. Irving is now the leader in Boston and can create his own legacy.

Moore, meanwhile, went on to praise James, whom he credits for helping the Cavaliers turn their fortunes around and win their first ever NBA title in 2016. It was Cleveland’s first major sports title since 1964.

There was a major uproar when James left his hometown team in 2010 for the Miami Heat, but two NBA titles later, he rejoined the Cavaliers in 2014 with an aim of winning a championship.

The 14-time NBA All-Star led them to four consecutive Eastern Conference Final titles and one championship and Moore believes his arrival changed the mindset of the players in Cleveland.

"When he came back, the entire place changed. The emphasis went on winning a championship," Moore said. "He's so professional and he's such an unbelievable athlete that, when he came back, everybody was just driven. There was this feeling that, 'We have to win this, we're going to do everything we can'. ... The way he displays, on and off the court, is such a great example that everyone else falls in line with what he's doing."

"If you look at the history of who has won the NBA in the last couple of years, you definitely need those big-name players. LeBron's a great team-mate. He's probably the best player ever," he added.