LeBron James Denies Rumors He Wants Kyrie Irving Traded Before 2017-2018 Season

With rumors circulating about LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the best player in basketball has decided to speak out on the issue. In a few tweets, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star denied reports that he wants to see the team trade Irving, as well as the notion that he might get into a physical altercation with his teammate if they met face-to-face.

The reports have come in the wake of the news that Irving asked the Cavs for a trade on July 7. Irving reportedly wants out of Cleveland because he no longer has any interest in playing alongside James, hoping to go to a team where he can have a bigger role.

READ: LeBron James At Center Of Kyrie Irving's Trade Request

James had been quiet on the issue, though ESPN reported that he was blindsided when he heard that Irving wanted to be dealt. The duo has reached the NBA Finals in all three of their seasons together, winning a championship in 2016. Irving never made the playoffs before James arrived in 2014, and Cleveland is a heavy favorite to win the Eastern Conference again next season.

James and Irving had their issues in their first season together, but the forward was very supportive of his point guard this past season. Immediately after the Cavs lost to the Warriors in Game 5 of this year’s finals, James told Irving “we’ll be back.”

“First of all, I don't know how Kobe and Shaq managed their partnership. All I can know, from the outside looking in, [is] that it didn't work out,” James told ESPN before the start of the 2017 NBA Finals. “For me, I see Kyrie growing every single day and wanting to be great. And so me, I just try to give him the blueprint, as much as I can. You know, his experiences, he's going to learn on his own as well, and that's what he should do, but all I can do is give him the blueprint, and that's it. Because he's going to be around a lot longer than me.

“He's 25. He's got at least 10 more years. I don't. So I want to give him the blueprint and see what he [can] do with it. You know, no matter if we're teammates for the rest of his career or for the rest of my career, listen, it won't be because we didn't want to play with each other no more. It will never be that.”

It’s looking more and more like James and Irving won’t be back in the Finals together next season. Cleveland has begun the process of moving on, fielding trade offers and signing Derrick Rose to a one-year contract. The former MVP could play a small role in replacing Irving, though he isn’t nearly the player that he once was.

READ: New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs Possible Destinations For Kyrie Irving?

James still hasn’t addressed the rumors that had been surrounding himself and the Cavs before Irving became the center of attention. With the ability to become a free agent in 2018, there is speculation that James will leave Cleveland for a second time, possibly for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Irving can’t become a free agent until the 2019 offseason, and some believe that he wants to get out of Cleveland in part because there is so much uncertainty surrounding the team’s future.