David Griffin has an interesting take on the whole Kyrie Irving situation that’s been brewing for his old team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now the general manager of the New York Knicks, Griffin appeared on ESPN’s The Jump Monday and shared his thoughts about Irving’s trade request.
"Most guys don't have the courage to do what he did," –Former Cavs GM David Griffin on Kyrie Irving's trade request. Today on the Jump!
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 7, 2017
Former #Cavs GM David Griffin thinks Kyrie Irving will be traded.
(via @clippittv) pic.twitter.com/9YBkCgbtFW
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) August 7, 2017
“I think Kyrie’s going to end up getting traded,” Griffin said. “I don’t think this is youth and ignorance. This is a guy who handled the situation exactly like he was supposed to. He went to Dan Gilbert privately and told him he thought he would be happier somewhere else. The worst thing this guy could have done is pretend to be all in and sink the ship from within.”
It’s worth noting that the Knicks have been singled out by Irving as a team he’d reportedly love to play for. So this could be a bit of gamesmanship on the part of Griffin. It surely helps that he and Irving have a relationship, Griffin having been the man to offer the point guard his first huge NBA contract back in 2015.
That said, it’s unclear who leaked Irving’s trade request in the first place. So both Irving and Griffin could be in the clear in that regard. And to Griffin’s point, Irving did request to be traded in a completely private setting and hasn’t done anything outside the realm of propriety since news broke that he did want out of Cleveland.
Whether any of that amounts to “courage” or not, we’ll leave up to you to decide for yourselves.