Cavalry General Manager Koby Altman told LeBron James that they would not trade Kyrie Irving.

LeBron's last message to the summit was sent to Cavs general manager Koby Altman shortly before they treated Irving with the Celtics.

Joe Vardon from The Athletic:

James was unyielding at the call – do not swap Irving, especially with the Celtics. At the end of the call, according to four separate accounts of people in the conversation, Altman told James that the transaction would not happen.

James hinted that Altman had not lied to him, even though Altman had been dismissed by his owner, Dan Gilbert.

"You realize at this point, do not take anything from Koby because Koby (who had just been named GM), but by that time, you realize that Koby is not the only to lead the team because (former general manager David Griffin) had been done, and that's why Griff was let off pretty much, "he said. said James.

Cavs' headquarters officials declined to be quoted for this story, but they disputed that Altman gave James an indication that the trade would not occur. They also said that Altman asked James if he would make a long-term commitment with the Cavs if Irving was not traded, and James said no.

If he had not the power to keep Irving, Altman should not have said that he would do it.

Perhaps Altman did not know that he lacked this authority. He was new to work, after all. So, maybe his mistake was easily forgivable. But that sounds like an error.

The Cavaliers did not make a mistake either, exchanging Irving. The package that they got turned out to be problematic, but the concept of the exchange of the unhappy star had more merit for the team than LeBron. LeBron lasted only one more season in Cleveland, and it seems likely – unsure – that he would have left even though the Cavs had listened to him on Irving. This meant that the Cavaliers could have remained without LeBron and attempted to exchange Irving during the last year of his contract, while his commercial value would have been lower. LeBron may have simply wanted to use Irving for another playoff and then let Cleveland carry the bag.

Communication problems are a bigger problem. We do not really know how to blame Gilbert, Altman and LeBron, but this call ended with these three pages on different pages. And it does not seem that LeBron's exit has solved the problem in Cleveland. Since then, the Cavs:

Again, we do not know if Gilbert, Altman or others are the problem. But Altman is very distressed and at one point is responsible for ensuring that communication runs smoothly within the organization.

LeBron left for the Lakers for many reasons. But it's hard to ignore the mismanagement of the Cavaliers over the past year.