Ever since Kyrie Irving shockingly asked the Cleveland Cavaliers for a trade, there have been tidbits of information released along the way, little by little, as reporters gathered the details.

The presumption is that Irving, who is still just 25-years-old and seemingly close to his prime, does not want to play alongside LeBron James any longer and instead wants to lead his own team as the go-to, franchise superstar.

ESPN NBA insider Stephen A. Smith has been a vocal member of the media since the story broke, and based on his high-level sources, revealed important details of Irving’s thinking in a piece that he wrote for The Undefeated on Friday.

“Kyrie isn’t saying he’s better than LeBron and should be seen that way,” a close confidant of Irving’s told Smith. “He’s saying he’s not about to let LeBron ‘SON’ him … treating him like he’s the child and LeBron’s the father or big brother he’s supposed to look up to.”

Numerous times during the regular season and the playoffs, James has been seen publicly berating Irving on the sidelines and on the court. Given how outspoken and vocal James is, it seems as though Irving grew tired of having to defer to James, despite the fact that LeBron will go down as an all-time great.

Irving has a lot of confidence in himself and his individual game, which is one of the main reasons he wants to lead a team on his own.

“Kyrie knows he’s a franchise-caliber talent. He wants to be treated like it. And he’s tired of hearing about what LeBron needs, and he’s damn sure tired of hearing LeBron sound like he always needs more. As if the crew they have isn’t enough,” Smith wrote.

If that really is Irving’s way of thinking, it makes sense.

When the Cavaliers have won big games and when they won their title in 2016, LeBron received most of the credit.

However, when the Cavs lose, the narrative shifts to James not having enough talent around him to get the job done.

This offseason, one of the main storylines has been whether or not LeBron would leave Cleveland again next summer, specifically to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Therefore, the threat of Irving being left behind on a rebuilding team became a very realistic possibility, and until he’s traded, it will remain one.

In other words, it’s LeBron “this” or LeBron “that”, and given the team aspect of the NBA, Irving is tired of staying out of the spotlight.

“Irving could’ve pointed in a variety of directions (owner Dan Gilbert, specifically) as the cause of his irritation,” wrote Smith. “Privately, he pointed right at James and didn’t want to play second fiddle to him next season. Tired of flagrant preferential treatment, James’ indecisiveness about his future and James’ ability to manipulate storylines in his favor, Irving has had it.”

Perhaps most surprisingly, Smith revealed that Irving had no clue that James was returning to Cleveland in 2012 and wasn't happy about it when he found out.

“The Cleveland Cavaliers’ miniature scoring sensation didn’t know James was coming back — 10 days after he agreed to a five-year, $90 million max extension. Irving didn’t particularly care for James to return to Cleveland. And now, three years later — after three straight trips to the NBA Finals, including a title — it’s official: Kyrie Irving does not want to play with LeBron James,” the “First Take” host explained.

Therefore, while Irving and James enjoyed success together on the court and brought the first-ever title to Cleveland, Irving didn’t want to play alongside LeBron at first and certainly doesn’t want to now.

It remains to be seen if, when and to whom the Cavs trade Irving this summer.