LeBron James has been rumored to be the de facto general manager of the Cavaliers since he returned to the organization in 2013, however, since GM David Griffin was fired this past summer, James' say in personnel decisions has gone completely by the wayside.
According to The Athletic, James had no say in the Kyrie Irving trade. It was previously reported James did not want the team to trade Irving at all, but Tuesday's new report claims he had no say in where Irving went or who the Cavaliers received in return.
The deal was also completed without consulting James, one source with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic. (Koby) Altman called James when it was essentially done and informed him of what was happening.
“It’s the best we can do,” Altman told James. Twenty minutes later, the trade was leaked publicly, one source with knowledge of the situation told The Athletic. It had been negotiated entirely without James’ knowledge.
James reportedly tried to reason with the front office, insisting he could mend fences with Irving, but the team was simply having none of it. Irving himself wanted nothing to do with the Cavaliers or James anymore.
According to The Athletic, Irving told multiple people he did not want to play one more minute with James in his career. He got his wish. James is now stuck in a situation where he is not happy and his team is not playing well.
