Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving is no King James

Kyrie Irving wants to leave and create his own legacy, but is he good enough to do so?

Understandably, this is the talk that in part fueled Kyrie Irving’s eventual trade request; he is tired of playing Robin to LeBron James’ Batman. Kyrie Irving feels a lack of respect and wants a chance to prove all doubters wrong by leading his own team to stardom. Irving definitely has the skill set to do so, and I wish him great success; however, he is no King James. Brian Windhorst of ESPN shared a quote that explains exactly how Irving feels about the King — respectful, but envious.

"“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.” — Brian Windhorst, ESPN"

The Cavaliers before LeBron’s return were in a perpetual downward spiral.

A team stuck in the lottery pick circle was supposed to grow and eventually become great. But, that really never came to fruition, until LeBron James returned from Miami. Granted, Kyrie Irving was young, inexperienced, and still learning, but he never once led Cleveland to the playoffs; that is until LeBron James returned and suddenly the team is in the NBA Finals.

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This is not meant to take anything away from Kyrie, as he is a generational talent. But, if he wants the chance to be the King somewhere else, I say go for it. LeBron James is much more important to the Cavalier’s franchise and should not take a backseat for anyone, even Kyrie Irving. Don’t believe me? The stats speak for themselves.

Without LeBron James on the court, with Kyrie Irving leading, the Cavaliers are very underwhelming.

According to Emmet Knowlton of Business Insider, the Cavaliers are far more than lackluster when King James takes a break on the bench. He has this to say about LeBron’s on court presence:

"“Since the All-Star Break, James’ net rating is plus-4.7. That means that when he’s been on the court, the Cavaliers are outscoring opponents by 4.7 points per 100 possessions. But when he sits, the Cavs’ net rating is -16.7. To put that in perspective, the Lakers have the worst overall net rating in the NBA this season at -7.8.” — Emmet Knowlton, Business Insider"

In a live segment of Sportscenter on ESPN, the most jarring statistic about Kyrie Irving and LeBron James’ on court relationship was brought to light. With Kyrie Irving and LeBron James on the court, the Cavaliers posted a net-efficiency of +9, ranking second in the NBA. With just LeBron on the court, the Cavaliers were slightly less productive at +4.6 which would have ranked 6th best in the NBA; however, with just Kyrie Irving leading the team, the LeBron-less Cavaliers would post a net-efficiency rating of -8, ranking dead last in the league.

Without LeBron James, Kyrie Irving would not be the star he is today.

Not only did LeBron take him under his wing and mentor Irving, but he even sometimes differed to him. Shockingly, his advising and “big brother” role is eventually what brought the demise to their relationship. Kyrie is tired of being LeBron’s side-kick and wants to be the leader somewhere else.

There have to be two thoughts swirling about Kyrie Irving’s mind right now as he makes his decision.

If LeBron leaves, I don’t want to be the lone soldier left behind.
If LeBron doesn’t leave, I don’t want to be the sidekick for the rest of my prime.

This makes sense, as playing alongside players as great as yourself limits the spotlight and stardom. Perhaps this is what makes the Golden State Warriors so great.

In any case, I wish Kyrie Irving the best of luck elsewhere and thank him for everything he has done for the city, despite going back on his promise and leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of many fans.

But, Cavaliers fans should not be worried, as King James is the heart and soul of Cleveland, not Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers should get a great package in return for Irving and will continue their dominance in the East. LeBron James has been to 7 straight NBA Finals, and I don’t see that streak ending anytime soon.

Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference.