One day during the three years LeBron James and Kyrie Irving spent as teammates, Drederick Irving was exiting the Cavs’ locker room when Randy Mims was entering. Mims, one of James’ lifelong friends and an official Cavs employee, reached out his hand to slap Drederick five. But Dred, Irving’s father, pulled his own arm back and refused the gesture.



When James later asked Irving about the incident and if there was something wrong, Irving said his father believed they shouldn’t be “fraternizing with the enemy.” Three sources with knowledge of the exchange independently confirmed it to The Athletic, revealing just a glimmer of light into a fractured relationship that both men hid well during their time together.



Irving shook off Gordon Hayward’s gruesome ankle injury early in the first quarter to score 22 points and pass for 10 assists in his Celtics debut Tuesday, and it was only fitting he had the ball in his hands – with James guarding him – when he missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer from the same spot on the same floor where so many shots before it had fallen.



Irving was greeted with mostly boos Tuesday, and the Cavs elected not to air a tribute video they had previously planned to show during the game. Consider this just the latest chapter in a long, strange saga between the Cavs and their former No. 1 overall pick.



‌‌‌ Both James...