Adam Silver: Kyrie Irving Trade Request ‘Upsetting’

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver feels bad about “whatever is going on in Cleveland,” and finds the Kyrie Irving trade request news upsetting.

Silver says that it’s too bad Irving and superstar teammate LeBron James no longer see eye-to-eye.

This is not the sort of the drama the League needs, according to Silver.

Per Cleveland.com:

“I feel bad for whatever is going on in Cleveland. I assume where there’s smoke there’s fire,” Silver said during a wide-ranging interview on The Rich Eisen Show Monday. “It’s upsetting to when you see superstar players who have coexisted and have had so much success together — three Finals in a row and one championship — to hear that for whatever reason there is a sense that they can’t continue to coexist.

 

“Yeah, that’s drama. But it’s not necessarily the kind of drama that the league wants.”

 

Meanwhile, the Cavs have watched as other teams got better, including the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and East rival Boston.

 

“The reaction to the Warriors was never going to be, ‘Well, let’s just stand back and watch them win year after year.’ It’s going to be, ‘We’re going to retool and how are we going to compete against them and maybe how can we emulate some of the things they’ve done?’ said Silver.