Kyrie Irving responds to rumor that he's unhappy in Cleveland

By foxsports
Published

Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving was a hot topic among NBA circles on Monday, after a report surfaced about his unhappiness in Cleveland. But the only thing the former Rookie of the Year claims to be unhappy about is the report itself.

Irving told reporters after Cleveland's 100-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers that he's not concerned with the recent rumblings.

"There's nothing to really address," Irving said via Cleveland.com. "Obviously there's going to be some misunderstandings, it's part of being on a team. For me, as a maturing young player in this league, I know what we have and the opportunity we have in order to be something special. My communication is open with all of my teammates, just knowing what's going on and how I feel about things."

Irving said that he received an overwhelming number of text messages from friends and other NBA players wondering about his future with the Cavaliers, but he downplayed the speculation and said he's got much more important things to worry about, like winning.

"For me, all that other stuff, what everyone is going to say, they're going to pick one player and it's going to change every single week," Irving said. "When they think that we're down and out, they're going to choose one player. For me, it has no effect on my life or what's going on. It's all about winning and winning a championship for Cleveland."

The original fire was lit by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, who said he had been hearing about Irving's displeasure in Cleveland for months.

"Dating back to last year, I've been told that Kyrie Irving ain't too happy being in Cleveland," Smith declared on First Take. "The situation is not ideal for him. It's something that I've been hearing for months; that under ideal circumstances he would prefer to be someplace other than Cleveland."

Even if there is any truth to the matter, it's not something Irving would readily admit. However, it's worth noting that Smith said he's never spoken to Irving himself about the situation.