Listening to the 92.3 the fan "Cavs round table". With Jason Lloyd, Dave McMennin, Joe Vardon
-Apparently Kyrie signed his deal with LeBron having no impact
-LeBron and Dan "Had no relationship". They just "existed".
-Dan built a team that is capable of winning a championship
-LeBron sold Dan way short, and Dan sold LeBron way short.
-Dan was trying to avoid the "death march" of 2010.
All of this here, I believe.
Remembering the tweets Kyrie put out when he signed his deal, he was very excited to start anew with Blatt. That Mike Brown season was the most TRASH out of all the pre-LeBron Kyrie years.
LeBron came back and that threw ALL of that out the window. Some would say for the better (after all, it got the Cavs a championship).
As for Kyrie "hating" LeBron, that's kind of a sice, a half-truth at best.
LeBron always wanting to play for the Lakers.... a sice, as well. I guess, but I really don't think LeBron cares WHICH team he plays for, as long it's marquee or gets him the most attention (and most importantly, has room to maneuver toward his whims). If the Bulls had life after Jordan, it'd be over there. he made Miami "marquee". He came back to Cleveland because the stars aligned for his agenda of winning championships and shuffling the deck.
Depending on what side you fall on "who you like better", the reaction will be colored that way.
Me? I've never bought into the "let's all hate Kyrie" hype. I don't like him forcing his way out of town, but at the same time I believe LeBron DID have knowledge of that Phoenix/Pacer trade and would have approved it. And finding that out may have been the final straw for Kyrie. LeBron covered that up in that ESPN interview. Covered that before.
As for LeBron, definitely believe that there was no relationship. I don't think he typically has one with the team owners, whether it be CLE, MIA, and now LAL. Just how he operates.
I'm less mad about the trade now since Sexton, while not Kyrie, looks like he won't suck. And other guys not played much last season (Zizic, Cedi) are in the same boat.
Most of this was a kind of confirmation for me. 2016 is even more a miracle in retrospect.