Kyrie Irving only needed eight total words to express his complete apathy about bolting Cleveland and LeBron James.
To be fair, it was eight more words than he uttered to James before telling the Cavaliers he wanted a trade.
The star point guard, a James sidekick-turned-Celtics enemy, nearly a month after the blockbuster trade, addressed the 6-foot-8, 250-pound elephant that will be present every moment this season: his relationship with James.
Did he talk with James before asking off a team that had made back-to-back-to-back NBA Finals?
“No,” Irving said, with a simple shake of the head, on ESPN on Monday.
“Why would I have to?”
Stephen A. Smith pointed out that because Irving orchestrated his trade wish behind James’ back, James could take it personally.
“Yeah,” Irving not so much as acknowledged as confirmed.
Does he care about that?
“No.”
And that was that. Irving was short, concise and telling, helping inflame a rivalry that likely will last beyond Cavaliers-Celtics, as James is likely to opt out of his contract after this season.
Irving pushed his way to Boston, being flipped for Isaiah Thomas and the rights to the Nets’ first-round pick in next year’s draft, among other assets. The Celtics are pairing the 25-year-old with Gordon Hayward, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to form what looks like a title contender.
Irving will have help, but will not have James by his side.
“Time will tell,” Irving said when asked if he could win without James.
“But what do you believe?” he was asked.
“Oh, absolutely,” Irving said.