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‘Crushed’ LeBron James Could Have Won 2-3 More Titles Had Kyrie Irving Stayed

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Joseph Varghese | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 10:11 AM ET

Before LeBron James became a part of the Los Angeles Lakers, he was playing for his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and won a championship playing with Kyrie Irving.

The latter was already there with the Cavs when James elected to stop his experiment with the Miami Heat and return home. Once back with the franchise, which is less than an hour from his home in Akron, he took over as their most important player.

Upon his request, the top brass also traded for 3-time All-Star Kevin Love to create a new Big 3. This trade for the power forward did not relegate Irving to be a mere third-string player, but he was still behind The King.

They famously won the 2016 championship. The following year, cracks started to appear as the point guard wanted to be the 1st option as well as a team leader.

His desire to be the top superstar saw him request a trade, which ultimately landed him with the Boston Celtics. Then Cavs head coach Ty Lue was sitting down on Club Shay Shay. Host Shannon Sharpe asked him about those times and how it impacted LeBron James.

LeBron was doing an autograph signing… So I come sit next to Bron, we’re sitting there, hand him the phone, SportsCenter says Kyrie Irving’s just been traded to the Boston Celtics. Man, Bron dropped the marker, just lays back in his chair for about 10 minutes and doesn’t say a word… Bron was crushed.
Ty Lue said

Ty Lue admits that LeBron was crushed when the Cavs traded Kyrie to Boston.

He also believes that had the Cavs kept Kyrie (and KD didn’t go to Golden State), they would have won 2-3 titles and LeBron would’ve likely never left for LA.

(via @ClubShayShay) pic.twitter.com/R9fIFiBL88
— Witness King James (@WITNESSKJ) August 28, 2025

The current Los Angeles Clippers head coach remembers those moments that left the current all-time leading scorer disappointed. He had hoped to run it back with Kyrie Irving and fight for more titles.

Ty Lue believes LeBron James and Kyrie Irving could have won more titles

Before talking about how crushing it was for LeBron James, host Shannon Sharpe asked Ty Lue if the Cleveland Cavaliers could have won more titles had Kyrie Irving stayed.

Yes sir. If KD doesn’t go to Golden State, I think we win. I think Kyrie’s staying, cause you can’t leave after that. I think he stays, and I think we had a chance to win 2 or 3.
Ty Lue replied

The 48-year-old head coach knows that the arrival of Kevin Durant changed the dynamics of the Cavaliers’ chances. However, just like how they figured the Golden State Warriors out once, Lue believes they could have figured them out again.

Had Irving not sent his luggage to Boston in the summer of 2017, the Cavaliers could have worked on how to defeat the Warriors. They could have won the 2018 title, and that would have paved the way for a 2019 title.

Ty Lue believes LeBron James would not have left Cleveland if they had won 2 or 3 titles

As he mentioned earlier, Ty Lue saw the disappointment on LeBron James’ face. The Clippers’ head coach believes Kyrie Irving‘s departure changed The King’s outlook on his NBA career.

When that happened, I thought Bron would do something different sooner or later, and that’s what he did.
Ty Lue said

Hearing this, host Shannon Sharpe asked if Lue felt the 4-time league MVP had stayed back had Irving not left.

Yes, I think so.
Ty Lue replied

NBA history could have been quite different had both the Duke standout and James not left the Cleveland Cavaliers. His current stint with the Los Angeles Lakers might not have happened.

The Akron native could have stayed home, built a legacy around him. Those 2 or 3 more titles, along with his myriad of individual accomplishments, would have probably made him the undisputed GOAT of basketball.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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