LeBron Was Crushed When Kyrie Got Traded, Ty Lue Reveals
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It’s been years since the shocking breakup of one of the NBA’s most electrifying duos—but now, former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue has peeled back the curtain, and the details are more dramatic than fans ever imagined.
According to Lue, LeBron James was blindsided when Kyrie Irving’s trade request—and eventual departure—became reality. The King, known for his composure, was at an autograph signing for his foundation when the news hit him like a gut punch. “Bron was doing an autograph signing with jerseys for his foundation… he dropped the marker and just lays back in his chair for about 10 minutes, doesn’t say a word, like pissed off,” Lue recalled.
The revelation has set social media ablaze. “He wasn’t just mad—he was heartbroken,” one fan tweeted. Another wrote: “This wasn’t just a trade. It was the end of a dynasty before it even began.”
At the time, the Cavaliers were fresh off their 2016 championship, a historic comeback engineered by LeBron and Kyrie that ended Cleveland’s decades-long title drought. Many believed the duo could rival Shaq and Kobe as one of the greatest pairings in basketball history. But Kyrie’s departure to Boston shattered those dreams.
Now, years later, Lue’s words have fans wondering: did that single moment—the dropped marker, the silent fury—mark the true beginning of the end for LeBron’s Cleveland era?
Commentators are already spinning the revelation as basketball’s great “What If.” What if Kyrie never left? What if the Cavs had kept the duo intact? Would LeBron have stayed longer in Cleveland?
One thing is certain: even the greatest player of his generation wasn’t immune to heartbreak. For LeBron James, the day Kyrie Irving left wasn’t just a trade—it was a betrayal that still echoes through NBA history.