Kyrie Irving Reportedly Upset at Paul George, Jimmy Butler Trade Talks Inclusion

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

Kyrie Irving reportedly wants to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in part because of trade talks that included him earlier in the offseason.

According to Ramona Shelburne, Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, the point guard was included in packages for Paul George and Jimmy Butler, each of whom were instead dealt to Western Conference teams. 

These talks "upset him even more when he found out about it, sources said."

There was apparently no communication with the player the way there used to be under previous general manager David Griffin.

Additionally, Irving's trade demand reportedly comes from the desire to be the star on a new team instead of being the No. 2 option behind LeBron James. 

"Irving was tired of being Robin to James' Batman," Shelburne, McMenamin and Windhorst wrote. "Tired of having another superstar—even one of the best players of all time—in control of his fate."

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The All-Star would like to join one of the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat or New York Knicks, per Shelburne, McMenamin and Windhorst. While the Timberwolves and Spurs each have big names on the rosters, none of them quite measure up to James.

With the Knicks, he could help kick-start a rebuilding process in a suddenly wide-open Eastern Conference.

Considering Irving has been an All-Star selection in four of the past five seasons and averaged a career-high 25.2 points per game last season, he clearly believes he deserves to be valued more by his franchise.