Kyrie Irving wants to leave the Cavs and out of LeBron's shadow

Four-time NBA all-star point guard, Kyrie Irving has

asked the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him. The 25-year-oldsaid he

wants a “bigger role."

Irving told Dan Gilbert,

owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers last week that he did not want to play

alongside LeBron James and wanted to go to a team where he could be more

of a focal point.

When asked about the news,

Irving’s agent Jeff Wechsler neither confirmed nor denied. Wechsler only

told ESPN that their discussions with the team would remain private.

ESPN listed four teams as the potential destinations for Irving: San Antonio Spurs, New York Nicks, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves.

LeBron James was “blindsided” and “disappointed” hearing

the news. He said he would not interfere and only wanted to focus on

his own plan for the offseason, reported ESPN on Friday.

Irving

still has three years on his 60 million US dollar contract with the

Cavaliers. He can also choose to opt out in the 2019-20 season which is

the last year of his contract.

Irving was one of the

biggest contributors to the Cavs 2016 NBA championship win. The

Cavaliers selected him with the number 1 overall pick in 2011. He has

been considered as the future franchise player for the team.

Data from the 2016-17 season showed that Irving had not proved he could be a leader without LeBron.