Kyrie Irving shocked the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer when he requested a trade and informed them that he no longer wanted to be a member of the franchise.

The point guard wanted to escape the shadows of LeBron James and be the star of his own team.

With the 25-year-old's feelings being made clear, the Cavs had little choice but to grant him his wish and they concluded a trade with the Boston Celtics.

In return, they received Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round draft pick and a second-round pick via the Miami Heat.

It was widely reported that there was a breakdown in the relationship between Irving and James and the former didn't want to share the floor with the King anymore.

However, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, LeBron didn't share the same feelings.

The four-time MVP didn't want Kyrie to leave and instructed the Cavs to decline his trade request in the hope that they would be able to work through their problems, per Windhorst.

Before Boston took on the Cavs earlier this month, their former star claimed that the team didn't want him and LBJ dismissed this by saying it "makes absolutely no sense".

But the franchise didn't handle the situation in the best possible way and they ended up losing a valuable member of their roster.

Irving had a meeting with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert in July to voice his concerns about his role on the team alongside James.

But with no general manager in place at the time following David Griffin's departure, Gilbert had to deal with the matter himself and told reporters that he expected to see the four-time All-Star in training camp, even though he knew the situation was beyond repair and a deal had to be done.

Windhorst stated that the Cleveland players were initially excited about the team they'd put together after Kyrie's departure but that has quickly changed and "second-guessing has been developing" with some of the team questioning their chances of competing for a championship with the pieces they have.

The Wine and Gold have been in a major slump in recent weeks, losing nine of their last 12 games.

They sit third in the Eastern Conference behind the Toronto Raptors and Irving's Celtics. The Ohio-based outfit suffered heavy losses to both of their rivals in the Eastern Conference and this could be the year that they are dethroned.

There are big problems in 'The Land' and at this moment, their chances of potentially facing the Golden State Warriors in the finals for a fourth consecutive year look extremely slim indeed.