Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
LeBron James chose to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason, but he did seriously consider returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers as well. James reportedly was angling for Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving to reunite with him on the Cavaliers, but Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal claims the guard wouldn’t have wanted that.
O’Neal made some interesting comments when that report was brought up on the latest episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq.
Adam Lefkoe: “I heard someone say that there was a chance LeBron would have gone to Cleveland if they were able to make a trade for Kyrie. Do you think there was any maybe truth to that?”
Iman Shumpert: “I would have believed that. They are players short over there. It’s hard to,”
Shaquille O’Neal: “Him and Kyrie ain’t rocking like that no more.”
Lefkoe: “He would know more than us.”
O’Neal: “I know he know, but I know too.”
Shumpert: “Yeah, but it could have happened. Yeah, we grown now, dog.”
O’Neal: “Kyrie ain’t letting that happen.”
Iman Shumpert, who played with both of them on the Cavaliers, pointed out Irving couldn’t really have stopped this from happening, as the Mavericks could trade him without his consent. The 34-year-old doesn’t have a no-trade clause that would allow him to control where he goes.
O’Neal’s primary point, though, is that Irving does not want to team up with James again. That is quite interesting.
Irving and James previously had been teammates on the Cavaliers from 2014 to 2017. They won a championship together in 2016 by stunningly overturning a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors would win the rematch against the Cavaliers in the 2017 NBA Finals, and that was the last time we saw the duo together. Irving asked out during the 2017 offseason, reportedly because he no longer wanted to play a secondary role behind James. The Cavaliers would then trade him to the Boston Celtics to end what had been an incredibly successful partnership.
As time went by, Irving appeared to recognize he could have done things differently. He admitted he was immature and added he had isolated himself because he didn’t know how to share his emotions.
The two stars would even mend their relationship, and it was long said that James wanted the Los Angeles Lakers to reunite him with Irving. The Lakers were never able to do it, though.
Now, what can somewhat get forgotten and would also dismiss O’Neal’s claims is that this wasn’t a one-way thing. Irving reportedly pushed for the Mavericks to acquire James in 2023. He was even said to have tried to persuade his former teammate to join him in Dallas. It wasn’t to be, though.
There is no reason to believe that Irving’s stance on joining forces with James would have changed three years later. There hasn’t been any indication of a falling out, and they have continued to speak highly of each other.
The reason why a James-Irving reunion on the Cavaliers was highly unlikely was that the Mavericks didn’t want to trade him. The nine-time All-Star, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL, wasn’t going to push for a move, too, as he is comfortable with his situation.
Would James have been more likely to go to the Cavaliers if they had Irving? We’ll never know. Ultimately, there were three reasons why James didn’t end up on the Cavaliers. The 41-year-old even had a secret meeting with his hometown team, but decided the 76ers were the better option.