Cavs guard Iman Shumpert says his Cavaliers teammates were not surprised when Kyrie Irving asked to be traded during the offseason.
While guesting on Complex’s Everyday Struggle, Shumpert said the team knew there were some issues behind the scenes that prompted Kyrie’s trade request (starting at 53:42):
https://youtu.be/yyLVfjMI-e8?t=53m42s
Did y’all feel a bit betrayed when Kyrie said he wanted a trade?
Shumpert: “It’s all business man. But you got to think, though, they three superstars—All-Stars—on one team.
“As frustrating as it is for me just to deal with that, for another superstar—”
But if he’s your homie, you’d expect Kyrie would come to you before he goes to the team, right?
Shumpert: “But that’s what I’m saying. We all kind of knew certain things about this team that was tough. It’s tough.”
So it didn’t blindside y’all.
Shumpert: “I wouldn’t say it blindsided… I didn’t expect it to happen how it happened. I didn’t expect it to be a big thing. It was a dragged-out thing. I don’t know how it was leaked.
“I know as a team, as a whole, when we all talked about it, when I talked to Kyrie about it… just wish that it was more controlled in a sense that the fans didn’t have to have weird quotes, and is this true, is that true, and all this shit coming out.
“We wished that it could have been, this trade happened. Boom. That’s it.”
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