Scottie Pippen Says Kyrie Irving Asking Cavaliers for Trade Is Right Choice

Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen said Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is making the right move to take his future into his own hands given the uncertain future of teammate LeBron James.

Chris Barnewall of CBS Sports passed along comments Pippen made Friday during an appearance on ESPN's The Jump about the trade speculation surrounding Irving and the Cavs.

"I am a very strong supporter of what he's doing because I've watched what has happened to him in his career and how things went for him in Cleveland, and I think he's at a superstar level now that he can control his own destiny," he said. "A lot of players in our game have that opportunity and they don't take advantage of it. I think it's the perfect timing, Cleveland didn't win a championship, they were right there, but there's been a lot of things going on within that organization."

On the topic of James, Pippen added: "LeBron doesn't give those guys the security that they need, that the superstar is gonna be there and he's gonna support us and I see Kyrie looking at the opportunity to run before LeBron runs, because there's a lot of chatter out there that LeBron's coming to play with the Lakers."

While Irving and James haven't reached the same heights Pippen did alongside Michael Jordan with the Bulls during their six-title dynasty in the 1990s, the Cavaliers' tandem did lead the franchise to its first championship in 2016.

Now it appears the duo could be heading toward a breakup.

On Monday, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported Irving requested a trade out of Cleveland in part because he "no longer wants to play alongside" James. He named the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves as landing spots of interest.

Meanwhile, James took to social media Tuesday to downplay any role in the situation:

The 32-year-old four-time NBA MVP is under contract with the Cavs for next season, but he owns a player option for the 2018-19 campaign. So he can opt out and become an unrestricted free agent, drastically altering the team's outlook in the process.

Drafting Irving with the first overall pick in 2011 was the result of James' previous exit from Cleveland. Now, as Pippen pointed out, the point guard is seemingly making a proactive effort to protect himself from getting caught in a similar teardown if history repeats itself next summer.