LeBron James Spoke With Koby Altman After Kyrie Irving Trade

[RealGM Wiretap]

LeBron James has yet to say anything on social media about the Cleveland Cavaliers' acquisition of Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder.

James did acknowledge the departure of Kyrie Irving.

That's the only way to be to the kid! Special talent/guy! Nothing but respect and what a ride it was our 3 years together Young Gode #Filayy https://t.co/wKYmYsmdgG

— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 23, 2017

James spoke with Cavaliers' general manager Koby Altman after the trade on Tuesday.

James scrimmaged at UCLA on Wednesday.

Via Joe Vardon/Cleveland Plain Dealer

[Hoopzilla]

Lebron's tweet gives more insight as to why Kyrie left. Even on his way out the door, Lebron publicly refers to this 25 year old as a "kid". A four time all star that closes games for a team that won a title, and Lebron can't find the common decency to call him a man. Now that Kyrie is in Boston, I doubt any of his teammates will undervalue his contributions in an effort to themselves look better. I doubt any of his teammates will call him a kid. I doubt any of his teammates will cry for the entire season saying they need more talent.

Sounds like Kyrie will feel a bit more appreciated and won't have his contributions minimized by the guy who is depending on him to win the games for him.

[MegaK]

Lebron's tweet gives more insight as to why Kyrie left. Even on his way out the door, Lebron publicly refers to this 25 year old as a "kid". A four time all star that closes games for a team that won a title, and Lebron can't find the common decency to call him a man. Now that Kyrie is in Boston, I doubt any of his teammates will undervalue his contributions in an effort to themselves look better. I doubt any of his teammates will call him a kid. I doubt any of his teammates will cry for the entire season saying they need more talent.

Sounds like Kyrie will feel a bit more appreciated and won't have his contributions minimized by the guy who is depending on him to win the games for him.

I mean compared to Lebron in stature almost everyone is a kid. Must be hard for him to differentiate between the little people. Also, Lebron is older and he may be calling him kid as term of endearment. It doesn't always have be taken so salty.

[J-Wolves]

Lebron needs to go and speak to him to get D.Cousins in a trade for T.Thompson and the Brooklyn pick.
Its all about the closing 5 and matching up VS the Warriors. The Love/Thompson frontcourt is a failure and needs to be fixed or they will not improve on last season despite the great pickup of Crowder.

Crowder/Lebron/Cousins VS Iguodala/Durant/Green
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

REPLY: @ "the banana boat allstars will finally come together after celtics trade.
this is the blueprint to beat the warriors. make this sh:t happen.
wade will sign after buyout. cavs trade thompson + shumpert for carmelo and love + brooklyn pick for cousins + r1 pick (lottery protected).
thomas-wade-crowder-carmelo-lebron-cousins (5 of these 6 to close games depending on matchup & need 3pointers or defense)
lebron-wade-crowder-carmelo-cousins
thomas-lebron-crowder-carmelo-cousins".


The Pelicans would want Thompson not Love as Davis doesn't want to play Center, I would say fine except the the last 6mins Davis you are the Center period and Thompson is on the bench. The Pelicans need a quality player at SF who can shoot 3 pointers so they would need to trade the Brooklyn pick to acquire that.

[MNRunLeft]

Lebron needs to go and speak to him to get D.Cousins in a trade for T.Thompson and the Brooklyn pick.
Its all about the closing 5 and matching up VS the Warriors. The Love/Thompson frontcourt is a failure and needs to be fixed or they will not improve on last season despite the great pickup of Crowder.

IT and Cousins didn't get along in Sac and was probably a main reason they didn't re-sign IT when he became a FA. Doesn't seem like Cousins would be an ideal fit as he wants the ball in his hands a good amount which wouldn't happen with LeBron and IT on the floor.

[Donnyxc]

IT and Cousins didn't get along in Sac and was probably a main reason they didn't re-sign IT when he became a FA.

Nah man. IT and Cousins were buds, same as Rondo and Cousins currently are.
IT and Cousins regularly mess with each other on twitter, it's all in good fun, see: https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/9/4/4693670/demarcus-cousins-isaiah-thomas-twitter-war
http://blacksportsonline.com/home/2017/02/isaiah-thomas-posts-hilarious-tweet-after-learning-kings-traded-demarcus-cousins/

SAC didn't re-sign IT because they thought he was a 6-man type (which was the overall view of the NBA at the time). The rest is history.

[mplsfonz23]

Lebron needs to go and speak to him to get D.Cousins in a trade for T.Thompson and the Brooklyn pick.
Its all about the closing 5 and matching up VS the Warriors. The Love/Thompson frontcourt is a failure and needs to be fixed or they will not improve on last season despite the great pickup of Crowder.

Crowder/Lebron/Cousins VS Iguodala/Durant/Green
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

REPLY: @ "the banana boat allstars will finally come together after celtics trade.
this is the blueprint to beat the warriors. make this sh:t happen.
wade will sign after buyout. cavs trade thompson + shumpert for carmelo and love + brooklyn pick for cousins + r1 pick (lottery protected).
thomas-wade-crowder-carmelo-lebron-cousins (5 of these 6 to close games depending on matchup & need 3pointers or defense)
lebron-wade-crowder-carmelo-cousins
thomas-lebron-crowder-carmelo-cousins".


The Pelicans would want Thompson not Love as Davis doesn't want to play Center, I would say fine except the the last 6mins Davis you are the Center period and Thompson is on the bench. The Pelicans need a quality player at SF who can shoot 3 pointers so they would need to trade the Brooklyn pick to acquire that.

This deal makes no sense to me. First, I doubt that TT and a pick get Boogie. Second in the last 6 minutes you bench the guy you traded for? NO likes the ideal of two big bodies that play at the end of games, so, I just don't see it.

[Hoopzilla]

Lebron's tweet gives more insight as to why Kyrie left. Even on his way out the door, Lebron publicly refers to this 25 year old as a "kid". A four time all star that closes games for a team that won a title, and Lebron can't find the common decency to call him a man. Now that Kyrie is in Boston, I doubt any of his teammates will undervalue his contributions in an effort to themselves look better. I doubt any of his teammates will call him a kid. I doubt any of his teammates will cry for the entire season saying they need more talent.

Sounds like Kyrie will feel a bit more appreciated and won't have his contributions minimized by the guy who is depending on him to win the games for him.

I mean compared to Lebron in stature almost everyone is a kid. Must be hard for him to differentiate between the little people. Also, Lebron is older and he may be calling him kid as term of endearment. It doesn't always have be taken so salty.

Lebron is speaking about a 25 year old man that played by his side for three years... and he still can't bring himself to call him a man in public. Remember, Lebron chooses every word he puts out on social media to control narratives, he is not some amateur, every word he uses is calculated. You don't use "kid" as a term of endearment, you use it as a way to keep someone you feel is lower than you in their place. There is nothing endearing about a grown man referring to another grown man a kid. What is he going to do with IT, call him a little boy as he passes him the ball so IT can close the games for him?

As I said, this gives a glimpse as to what Kyrie was dealing with and makes it easier to see why he wanted to move on from this arrogant douche. Lebron is the salty one for calling him a kid. Kyrie grew into a man by closing the games for Lebron and deserved acknowledgement for same on his way out. Lebron just became "that guy who passes the ball to Kyrie" in crunch time.

[Johnnyceltic]

Lebron's tweet gives more insight as to why Kyrie left. Even on his way out the door, Lebron publicly refers to this 25 year old as a "kid". A four time all star that closes games for a team that won a title, and Lebron can't find the common decency to call him a man. Now that Kyrie is in Boston, I doubt any of his teammates will undervalue his contributions in an effort to themselves look better. I doubt any of his teammates will call him a kid. I doubt any of his teammates will cry for the entire season saying they need more talent.

Sounds like Kyrie will feel a bit more appreciated and won't have his contributions minimized by the guy who is depending on him to win the games for him.

I mean compared to Lebron in stature almost everyone is a kid. Must be hard for him to differentiate between the little people. Also, Lebron is older and he may be calling him kid as term of endearment. It doesn't always have be taken so salty.

Lebron is speaking about a 25 year old man that played by his side for three years... and he still can't bring himself to call him a man in public. Remember, Lebron chooses every word he puts out on social media to control narratives, he is not some amateur, every word he uses is calculated. You don't use "kid" as a term of endearment, you use it as a way to keep someone you feel is lower than you in their place. There is nothing endearing about a grown man referring to another grown man a kid. What is he going to do with IT, call him a little boy as he passes him the ball so IT can close the games for him?

As I said, this gives a glimpse as to what Kyrie was dealing with and makes it easier to see why he wanted to move on from this arrogant douche. Lebron is the salty one for calling him a kid. Kyrie grew into a man by closing the games for Lebron and deserved acknowledgement for same on his way out. Lebron just became "that guy who passes the ball to Kyrie" in crunch time.

LeBron is talking about the tweeter, not Kyrie with 'kid'.

[Hoopzilla]

I mean compared to Lebron in stature almost everyone is a kid. Must be hard for him to differentiate between the little people. Also, Lebron is older and he may be calling him kid as term of endearment. It doesn't always have be taken so salty.

Lebron is speaking about a 25 year old man that played by his side for three years... and he still can't bring himself to call him a man in public. Remember, Lebron chooses every word he puts out on social media to control narratives, he is not some amateur, every word he uses is calculated. You don't use "kid" as a term of endearment, you use it as a way to keep someone you feel is lower than you in their place. There is nothing endearing about a grown man referring to another grown man a kid. What is he going to do with IT, call him a little boy as he passes him the ball so IT can close the games for him?

As I said, this gives a glimpse as to what Kyrie was dealing with and makes it easier to see why he wanted to move on from this arrogant douche. Lebron is the salty one for calling him a kid. Kyrie grew into a man by closing the games for Lebron and deserved acknowledgement for same on his way out. Lebron just became "that guy who passes the ball to Kyrie" in crunch time.

LeBron is talking about the tweeter, not Kyrie with 'kid'.

No, Lebron is speaking about Kyrie when he mention the word kid, can you read? The original post thanked Kyrie, so James responded by saying "That's the only way to be to the kid!" Meaning, thankful is the only thing we should be ... to Kyrie, not the tweeter. Are you trying to say that Lebron is trying to thank the original tweet? That is not accurate, Lebron was specifically speaking about Kyrie when using the word kid.

[oaktownwarriors87]

Lebron's tweet gives more insight as to why Kyrie left. Even on his way out the door, Lebron publicly refers to this 25 year old as a "kid". A four time all star that closes games for a team that won a title, and Lebron can't find the common decency to call him a man. Now that Kyrie is in Boston, I doubt any of his teammates will undervalue his contributions in an effort to themselves look better. I doubt any of his teammates will call him a kid. I doubt any of his teammates will cry for the entire season saying they need more talent.

Sounds like Kyrie will feel a bit more appreciated and won't have his contributions minimized by the guy who is depending on him to win the games for him.

I mean compared to Lebron in stature almost everyone is a kid. Must be hard for him to differentiate between the little people. Also, Lebron is older and he may be calling him kid as term of endearment. It doesn't always have be taken so salty.

LeBron is pretty salts. He doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

[KGdaBom]

Lebron's tweet gives more insight as to why Kyrie left. Even on his way out the door, Lebron publicly refers to this 25 year old as a "kid". A four time all star that closes games for a team that won a title, and Lebron can't find the common decency to call him a man. Now that Kyrie is in Boston, I doubt any of his teammates will undervalue his contributions in an effort to themselves look better. I doubt any of his teammates will call him a kid. I doubt any of his teammates will cry for the entire season saying they need more talent.

Sounds like Kyrie will feel a bit more appreciated and won't have his contributions minimized by the guy who is depending on him to win the games for him.

I mean compared to Lebron in stature almost everyone is a kid. Must be hard for him to differentiate between the little people. Also, Lebron is older and he may be calling him kid as term of endearment. It doesn't always have be taken so salty.

Lebron is speaking about a 25 year old man that played by his side for three years... and he still can't bring himself to call him a man in public. Remember, Lebron chooses every word he puts out on social media to control narratives, he is not some amateur, every word he uses is calculated. You don't use "kid" as a term of endearment, you use it as a way to keep someone you feel is lower than you in their place. There is nothing endearing about a grown man referring to another grown man a kid. What is he going to do with IT, call him a little boy as he passes him the ball so IT can close the games for him?

As I said, this gives a glimpse as to what Kyrie was dealing with and makes it easier to see why he wanted to move on from this arrogant douche. Lebron is the salty one for calling him a kid. Kyrie grew into a man by closing the games for Lebron and deserved acknowledgement for same on his way out. Lebron just became "that guy who passes the ball to Kyrie" in crunch time.

You're an obvious hater desperately looking for reasons to hate. Taking tiny things and making a big issue out of them and than acting like LeBron still choke come crunch time. Who's the constant in the last seven finals. Only LeBron.

[Hoopzilla]

I mean compared to Lebron in stature almost everyone is a kid. Must be hard for him to differentiate between the little people. Also, Lebron is older and he may be calling him kid as term of endearment. It doesn't always have be taken so salty.

Lebron is speaking about a 25 year old man that played by his side for three years... and he still can't bring himself to call him a man in public. Remember, Lebron chooses every word he puts out on social media to control narratives, he is not some amateur, every word he uses is calculated. You don't use "kid" as a term of endearment, you use it as a way to keep someone you feel is lower than you in their place. There is nothing endearing about a grown man referring to another grown man a kid. What is he going to do with IT, call him a little boy as he passes him the ball so IT can close the games for him?

As I said, this gives a glimpse as to what Kyrie was dealing with and makes it easier to see why he wanted to move on from this arrogant douche. Lebron is the salty one for calling him a kid. Kyrie grew into a man by closing the games for Lebron and deserved acknowledgement for same on his way out. Lebron just became "that guy who passes the ball to Kyrie" in crunch time.

You're an obvious hater desperately looking for reasons to hate. Taking tiny things and making a big issue out of them and than acting like LeBron still choke come crunch time. Who's the constant in the last seven finals. Only LeBron.

I am not a hater, I state facts. Lebron is so concerned about the narrative around him and calls out anyone who speaks his name. This doesn't work one way, he needs to be held accountable for his crap too.

It's really easy to make 7 straight finals when you bounce around the league and cherry pick the best situation. Funny how he has only been able to win 3, but lost 5. He is so clutch he has watched teams celebrate winning a title right in front of him 5 times. He is a regular at the big dance, but when the last dance comes at the end, he is standing on the side watching everyone else celebrate. A 3-5 Finals record indicates just how clutch or in his situation, just how un-clutch he is. There is a reason he teamed up with D Wade and Kyrie, he needs players that can put the games away for him, he cannot do it himself, that's why he left Cleveland in the first place. He has come to terms with it himself, why can't you?

Saying that Lebron calling Kyrie a kid publicly is "a tiny thing" shows how little you understand the situation. If he has no problem speaking that way about him in public, it is reasonable to say he speaks to him/about him with that same tone in real life, or he wouldn't feel so comfortable to talk down to him like that on social media.

[12footrim]

Lebron's tweet gives more insight as to why Kyrie left. Even on his way out the door, Lebron publicly refers to this 25 year old as a "kid". A four time all star that closes games for a team that won a title, and Lebron can't find the common decency to call him a man. Now that Kyrie is in Boston, I doubt any of his teammates will undervalue his contributions in an effort to themselves look better. I doubt any of his teammates will call him a kid. I doubt any of his teammates will cry for the entire season saying they need more talent.

Sounds like Kyrie will feel a bit more appreciated and won't have his contributions minimized by the guy who is depending on him to win the games for him.

It really depends on how he uses that word. My 41 year old brother in law litterly says hello to me and everyone younger than him "hey kid", and I'm 38. I often remember many other people saying this as well. If Lebron calls someone like Deron Williams or someone kid as well then it's just his thing probably.

Lebron is pretty passive aggressive on twitter, but you'd need context to know if this was that IMO. The message didn't seem spiteful to me and I doubt it was really received that way.

[Johnnyceltic]

No, Lebron is speaking about Kyrie when he mention the word kid, can you read? The original post thanked Kyrie, so James responded by saying "That's the only way to be to the kid!" Meaning, thankful is the only thing we should be ... to Kyrie, not the tweeter. Are you trying to say that Lebron is trying to thank the original tweet? That is not accurate, Lebron was specifically speaking about Kyrie when using the word kid.

You are 100% incorrect. Did you watch the video of the original tweet? "The only way to be" is to be thankful and not burn Kyrie's jersey. He starts referring to Kyrie in the second sentence.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20422873/nba-lebron-james-takes-high-road-twitter-reaction-kyrie-irving-trade

[Hoopzilla]

No, Lebron is speaking about Kyrie when he mention the word kid, can you read? The original post thanked Kyrie, so James responded by saying "That's the only way to be to the kid!" Meaning, thankful is the only thing we should be ... to Kyrie, not the tweeter. Are you trying to say that Lebron is trying to thank the original tweet? That is not accurate, Lebron was specifically speaking about Kyrie when using the word kid.

You are 100% incorrect. Did you watch the video of the original tweet? "The only way to be" is to be thankful and not burn Kyrie's jersey. He starts referring to Kyrie in the second sentence.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20422873/nba-lebron-james-takes-high-road-twitter-reaction-kyrie-irving-trade

I really suggest you get some help with reading comprehension. You don't get it.

[Johnnyceltic]

No, Lebron is speaking about Kyrie when he mention the word kid, can you read? The original post thanked Kyrie, so James responded by saying "That's the only way to be to the kid!" Meaning, thankful is the only thing we should be ... to Kyrie, not the tweeter. Are you trying to say that Lebron is trying to thank the original tweet? That is not accurate, Lebron was specifically speaking about Kyrie when using the word kid.

You are 100% incorrect. Did you watch the video of the original tweet? "The only way to be" is to be thankful and not burn Kyrie's jersey. He starts referring to Kyrie in the second sentence.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20422873/nba-lebron-james-takes-high-road-twitter-reaction-kyrie-irving-trade

I really suggest you get some help with reading comprehension. You don't get it.

Answer this...
How is Kyrie acting in the only way to be? He just betrayed LeBron.

Why does LeBron directly address Kyrie with kid, as you say, and then refer to him in the third person "special guy/talent"?

The reason you can't answer that is because you're 200% wrong after you doubled down on being 100% wrong. Triple down. I dare you.

[Pukovnik]

I am not a hater, I state facts. Lebron is so concerned about the narrative around him and calls out anyone who speaks his name. This doesn't work one way, he needs to be held accountable for his crap too.

It's really easy to make 7 straight finals when you bounce around the league and cherry pick the best situation. Funny how he has only been able to win 3, but lost 5. He is so clutch he has watched teams celebrate winning a title right in front of him 5 times. He is a regular at the big dance, but when the last dance comes at the end, he is standing on the side watching everyone else celebrate. A 3-5 Finals record indicates just how clutch or in his situation, just how un-clutch he is. There is a reason he teamed up with D Wade and Kyrie, he needs players that can put the games away for him, he cannot do it himself

Don't even know where to start with this. First of all, a piece of advice, stop smoking weed....IMMEDIATELY!

Secondly, "its really easy to make 7 straight finals".....to this I can only say....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....

Thirdly, "he needs Wade and Kyrie to put away games for him"......literally on 99 percent possessions that resulted in wins for both Miami and Cleveland, James was the initiator...the reason Wade and Kyrie were clutch is because LeBron put them in that situation. He is not going to shoot 7 for 52 to prove a point like someone else, he is going to find the best possible solution for his team, sometimes he will take the last shot, sometimes he will make sure one of his teammates will be in the best possible position to make the shot. That's what great players do, they make a team decision because basketball is, a newsflash for you, A TEAM SPORT!

Fourthly, you really need to look up what the word "fact" means, because, you might say you are not a hater, but everybody here sees that you really are a hater. This is by far the stupidest argument against LeBron James in history.

[Hoopzilla]

Lebron's tweet gives more insight as to why Kyrie left. Even on his way out the door, Lebron publicly refers to this 25 year old as a "kid". A four time all star that closes games for a team that won a title, and Lebron can't find the common decency to call him a man. Now that Kyrie is in Boston, I doubt any of his teammates will undervalue his contributions in an effort to themselves look better. I doubt any of his teammates will call him a kid. I doubt any of his teammates will cry for the entire season saying they need more talent.

Sounds like Kyrie will feel a bit more appreciated and won't have his contributions minimized by the guy who is depending on him to win the games for him.

It really depends on how he uses that word. My 41 year old brother in law litterly says hello to me and everyone younger than him "hey kid", and I'm 38. I often remember many other people saying this as well. If Lebron calls someone like Deron Williams or someone kid as well then it's just his thing probably.

Lebron is pretty passive aggressive on twitter, but you'd need context to know if this was that IMO. The message didn't seem spiteful to me and I doubt it was really received that way.

I agree that context means everything.

You do not go on social media and call a grown man a kid. It makes it obvious he does not view him as an equal, or he would call him a man. This was supposed to be a tweet that compliments him and he calls him a kid. Saying, "that's probably just his thing" is letting him off the hook. He is a grown man that chooses the words he posts to social media carefully. Lebron is very social media savvy and pretending otherwise is ignorant.

As far as context, you would only need to look at the relationship they share. Lebron gets friends on the Cavs payroll, Kyrie doesn't. The Cavs were Kyrie's team before Lebron came back, and I haven't heard of anyone asking Kyrie's position on roster moves or how he sees the future, only Lebron was spoken to. It looks like Lebron was catered to and Kyrie was left on the side to watch Lebron get all the attention. I never once heard Lebron say the team was Kyrie's just as much as it was his. Kyrie was basically pushed to the side when Lebron came back and he did nothing to try and make Kyrie feel like he had any say in the direction of his career. Based on that, it really looks like he is talking down to him. You also agree he is passive aggressive on social media, so it adds up.

If you had a brother that called you and your friends "kid" when he enters a room, that is different from him referring to you as such to millions of people who don't know you on social media. If you can't understand the difference in that there is a problem. Calling you kid is a comfort thing. You do not speak so comfortably and casually about people on social media, especially when referring to a person you work with professionally.

[Hoopzilla]

You are 100% incorrect. Did you watch the video of the original tweet? "The only way to be" is to be thankful and not burn Kyrie's jersey. He starts referring to Kyrie in the second sentence.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20422873/nba-lebron-james-takes-high-road-twitter-reaction-kyrie-irving-trade

I really suggest you get some help with reading comprehension. You don't get it.

Answer this...
How is Kyrie acting in the only way to be? He just betrayed LeBron.

Why does LeBron directly address Kyrie with kid, as you say, and then refer to him in the third person "special guy/talent"?

The reason you can't answer that is because you're 200% wrong after you doubled down on being 100% wrong. Triple down. I dare you.

I can't answer a question that make no sense gramatically: How is Kyrie acting in the only way to be?

Say that out loud to yourself, seriously. Better yet, take it to a tutor and let them show you how to form a sentence and a complete thought.

1) The original tweet said thank you Kyrie
2) James responded to that tweet by saying "That's the only way to be to the kid!" (that means being thankful for Kyrie's contributions is the only way to be, he is in no way speaking to the tweeter)
3) He then spoke about Kyrie in the third person because only has a high school education. As it was a separate thought from the first sentence, he couldn't keep any continuity because he lacks the english skills required to keep his tweet uniform.

If he were responding to the original tweeter, he would have said "That is the only way to be!", but he didn't stop there. He said "That is the only way to be to the kid". Saying "that is the only way to be to Kyrie, thankful." It is those three words "to the kid" you are not understanding.

He betrayed Lebron? That has to be the funniest thing I have ever heard. He decided that Lebron wasn't going to leech off him anymore and take all the credit. Now, when Kyrie hits the game winner, they won't be talking about how awesome the pass from Lebron was. They will congratulate him for winning the game. That is why he left, he was sick of being in the shadow of the guy who passes him the ball at the end of games.