Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season

5. Kyrie Irving trade ruined the Cavs’ season

Before the season, started it was rumored that Kyrie Irving wanted out of Cleveland. That became true when Kyrie Irving heard of a discussion between Cavs’ higher-ups about his future.

Irving demanded a trade and now he is a member of the Boston Celtics. The Cavaliers got Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas and more from that trade, but neither of those players were with the team past February.

By the time of the trade deadline, the Cavaliers were struggling and looking for younger players to help bring some life to the team.

Kyrie Irving leaving was the end of the Big 3 and the end of the Cavaliers’ title hopes. They were never able to recover from Irving’s departure and it completely depleted their roster of its previous firepower.

Everything was put on LeBron’s shoulders and their annual meeting with the Golden State Warriors would not turn out well, mostly because they were never able to recover from losing Kyrie.