Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie is an unwelcome distraction to the Tribe
By Joe Russo
While a lot of the focus is on the Cleveland Cavaliers, don’t forget about the Cleveland Indians!
I understand the hows and whys of Cleveland Cavaliers‘ PG Kyrie Irving making all of the headlines both in Cleveland and across the country. He is responsible for one of the most iconic moments in Cleveland sports history, if not THE most iconic moment.
Despite that, Irving is an unwelcome distraction, and not just because it’s bad for the Cleveland Indians.
For example, did you know the recent weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays boasted two sell outs and nearly 100,000 fans?
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That’s a rarity for the Indians ever since the 455 game sell out streak ended all those years ago.
Did you notice that Corey Kluber has rocketed himself back into the Cy Young race? He went 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA over his last 10 starts. No, because the negative drama that always is a Cavaliers offseason flooded local coverage.
If you check out our own homepage, you will find about half of all of the articles revolve around the Kyrie Irving trade demand.
The Indians are still in first place despite injuries over the course of the season to Kluber, Danny Salazar, Austin Jackson, Abraham Almonte, Jason Kipnis, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Michael Brantley. Jose Ramirez is in the midst of a MVP type season. However, beyond the fun t-shirts and baseball caricatures, Irving’s impatience and ego pushed him out of the local fans’ minds.
Never mind that Irving was only eighth in the NBA in Player Efficiency rating among point guards last season per Basketball-Reference.com.
Never mind that while Irving was the lead star on the Cavaliers, the team’s record was 78-152. Also, don’t forget that Irving compares, according to Basketball-Reference.com, to Billy Knight, who had just one All-ABA selection in 1975-76.
This isn’t meant to be an anti-Kyrie rant.
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Instead, it is a rant that’s explaining how one of the best opportunities the Indians have ever had to win a title is playing out in our city. In a ballpark renovated by the owners with ZERO public money. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s plan is the total opposite regarding the upcoming face lift for “The Q”.
The Indians have their own young stars emerging as one of the best in baseball, who genuinely enjoy playing the game and playing in Cleveland.
The first NBA games are months away, but a first place team at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario is in need of your attention. Yes, Irving is a huge part of the Cavaliers. He helped bring the city its first title in decades.
Irving is a true NBA star and is only going to get better over the next few seasons. Losing Irving would be a huge loss to the Cavaliers.
Next: What could a Magic/Cavs trade focusing on Irving look like?
That said, we’re in the midst of another Indians’ summer, with a contender trying to put away the AL Central, while their downtown neighbors are having a hard enough time staying out of their own way.