Three teams the Cavaliers are known to have spoken with are the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers, the sources said. The Cavs' targets are Iman Shumpert in New York, Evan Turner in Philadelphia and Luol Deng in Chicago, sources said.
It is believed Cleveland has reached out to other clubs as well. Waiters, whom the Cavaliers drafted with the No. 4 pick in 2012, has a contentious relationship with several teammates, including star point guard Kyrie Irving, and sources say he is open to being traded. In fact, although Waiters has not demanded a trade, he brought up the subject in a three-hour meeting last week with coach Mike Brown and general manager Chris Grant, according to sources.
The Cavaliers are looking to shake things up after a 4-11 start. Part of their problem has been the dysfunction in their locker room. Waiters, a 6-foot-4 guard, got into an altercation with forward Tristan Thompson during a players-only meeting after a 29-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 13, sources said.
Sources described the following account:
Irving called the meeting after the game, and every player spoke. When Waiters was given the floor, he criticized Thompson and Irving, accusing them of playing "buddy ball'' and often refusing to pass to him. Thompson took umbrage with Waiters' words and went back at him verbally. The two confronted each other, but teammates intervened before it could escalate into a fight.
However, Waiters and Irving are not close. Waiters believes the Cavaliers have a double standard when it comes to Irving, sources said. Waiters feels that while Irving is allowed to get away with loafing defensively, making turnovers and taking bad shots, he is taken out of games for such things. Waiters has shared his views with Brown and Grant.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are dealing with a three-game losing streak, and perhaps some chemistry problems within the locker room.
The Cavaliers held a players-only meeting following Wednesday's 29-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, multiple sources told ESPN.com. But the meeting got contentious, and players confronted each other, according to sources.
In a loss at the Chicago Bulls on Monday, Cavs coach Mike Brown and star guard Kyrie Irving got into an exchange on the bench after Brown pulled Irving from the game.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:09 pm
by WeekapaugGroove
Have to think a little roster shakeup might be coming.
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Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:21 pm
by Dupp
So some people saying a kyrie / dion altercation is the reason he didnt play last night. Anyone *cough * Bmac *cough* got any info to share on this?
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:44 pm
by Fiktion
Added another Tweet. There seems to be some indication that Kyrie's black eye is not from the Corey Brewer elbow...
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 11:00 pm
by jbk1234
Everyone will think I'm crazy, but if it comes down to Waiters or Irving, I'd trade Irving and get more back.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 11:45 pm
by Slackstring701
jbk1234 wrote:Everyone will think I'm crazy, but if it comes down to Waiters or Irving, I'd trade Irving and get more back.
Will never happen
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 11:49 pm
by jbk1234
Slackstring701 wrote:
jbk1234 wrote:Everyone will think I'm crazy, but if it comes down to Waiters or Irving, I'd trade Irving and get more back.
Will never happen
It was more of a should happen than will happen. However, I think there is a 10% chance that Gilbert would say look I'm done with surrendering the future of my team over to one player. If you trade Waiters under these circumstances, you essentially say it's Kyie's team and Coach Brown can go back to being a figure head on the bench.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 2:33 am
by Dupp
I kind of agree but hopefully its overblown. I want to keep both guys.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 3:34 am
by B Mac
Dupp wrote:So some people saying a kyrie / dion altercation is the reason he didnt play last night. Anyone *cough * Bmac *cough* got any info to share on this?
Not nearly as bad as it's being made out to be. Kyrie wasnt even one of the main people in the "argument". These sorts of meetings happen all the time in the NBA when teams get sick of losing. I take it as a good sign that the players care enough to be passionate in a meeting and don't let the issues they have with each other fester into bigger deals. I've had some of the biggest fights of my life with some of my best friends while we worked things out. We were better because of it. Here's hoping that the same thing happens here..
..and yes Dion IS actually sick. Just a coincidence.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 5:39 am
by tidho
Isn't that why they have team meetings?....to air the dirty laundry in private and work through their issues?
Now if one of these 'journalists' has a source on Kyrie taking a shot in the eye from a teammate then they should probably quote them.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 12:34 pm
by monstermash
Hi, I come in peace as a fan of the Raptors (you can't believe how relieved/happy/ecstatic we are that Colangelo got canned!!!). I am wondering what everyone's opinion is of Kyrie? Is he becoming, or has he always been, a self-centered egomaniac whose teammates are indeed getting sick of his act and turning Coach Brown into a figurehead yet again (as in the Lebron era)? Or is he a great player who is willing to share the spotlight with his teammates?
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 2:43 pm
by gflem
monstermash wrote:Hi, I come in peace as a fan of the Raptors (you can't believe how relieved/happy/ecstatic we are that Colangelo got canned!!!). I am wondering what everyone's opinion is of Kyrie? Is he becoming, or has he always been, a self-centered egomaniac whose teammates are indeed getting sick of his act and turning Coach Brown into a figurehead yet again (as in the Lebron era)? Or is he a great player who is willing to share the spotlight with his teammates?
Honestly I don't know. I don't think Kyrie got into a fight with Dion, did any of these clowns in the media pushing this idea see the shot he took from Brewer? It was nasty, he is lucky he is able to play already. I would like to have been a fly on the wall in that meeting though. It looked to me like Kyrie wasn't buying into what coach Brown wants from his players, and I wonder if the infighting is from guys backing Brown against the guys who weren't. I would think Andy, Clark and Gee and maybe Bynum (not sure if he was even there) who have played for Brown before, would be in the pro Brown camp. Maybe it was about Kyrie being so ball dominant, who knows? At times last night they looked terrible, with Kyrie dribbling into double and triple teams, with no player movement on offense again. But at least they won, on the road, so maybe things will start looking better.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 7:33 pm
by ThirdEyeSharp
lol if we trade Kyrie we'd be competing for Wiggins in this next draft. I'd be done with this team
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 9:19 pm
by TheOUTLAW
We might be anyway
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 9:41 pm
by Niko23
Good - I am glad they cared enough to start yelling at each other. They need to take one game at a time. Good to get that first road win last night. They started 3-7 in the first 10 and they need to aim for 5-5 in the next 10....especially with Miami and SA on the schedule.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 10:22 pm
by monstermash
gflem wrote:
monstermash wrote:Hi, I come in peace as a fan of the Raptors (you can't believe how relieved/happy/ecstatic we are that Colangelo got canned!!!). I am wondering what everyone's opinion is of Kyrie? Is he becoming, or has he always been, a self-centered egomaniac whose teammates are indeed getting sick of his act and turning Coach Brown into a figurehead yet again (as in the Lebron era)? Or is he a great player who is willing to share the spotlight with his teammates?
Honestly I don't know. I don't think Kyrie got into a fight with Dion, did any of these clowns in the media pushing this idea see the shot he took from Brewer? It was nasty, he is lucky he is able to play already. I would like to have been a fly on the wall in that meeting though. It looked to me like Kyrie wasn't buying into what coach Brown wants from his players, and I wonder if the infighting is from guys backing Brown against the guys who weren't. I would think Andy, Clark and Gee and maybe Bynum (not sure if he was even there) who have played for Brown before, would be in the pro Brown camp. Maybe it was about Kyrie being so ball dominant, who knows? At times last night they looked terrible, with Kyrie dribbling into double and triple teams, with no player movement on offense again. But at least they won, on the road, so maybe things will start looking better.
Okay. Thanks for your input. Your team is certainly going in the right direction with Kyrie as your centerpiece. Good luck this season!
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 1:08 am
by ThirdEyeSharp
TheOUTLAW wrote:We might be anyway
I don't see a bottom feeder in this team, I see a team that needs a few months to adjust to what, 8 new players and a new coach?
And I'd like some type of source to the claims of Kyrie being a volatile presence in the locker room. I may have just missed these stories or chatter, but it's news to me.
If he's sick of losing and he called some people out I'm on board with that, on the other hand, if he's not holding himself accountable as well we have a problem.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 8:54 am
by TheOUTLAW
This whole nonsense was made up by the media. All we know for sure is that there was a meeting and maybe voices were raised at some point. Maybe.
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 5:39 pm
by Niko23
In the era of "for profit" journalism - a team meeting with raised voices = complete disaster ZMOG Dion punch Kyrie errrrr
Re: Cavs players-only meeting descends into infighting
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 4:26 am
by BossHoggin
Niko23 wrote:In the era of "for profit" journalism - a team meeting with raised voices = complete disaster ZMOG Dion punch Kyrie errrrr