In the NBA, trade talks normally follow when a team is struggling. The Cleveland Cavaliers are no exception. For most, Kevin Love or maybe some of the other support group cast will be immediately rumored to leave. However, this time, it is someone pretty much popular -- Kyrie Irving.

The All Star guard was singled out by Stephen A. Smith of ESPN as someone who was not happy with the Cavs. The team lost three of their four games at the time of the report.

“Dating back to last year, I’ve been told that Kyrie Irving ain’t too happy being in Cleveland. The situation is not ideal for him," Smith said.

The bit comes as a bit of a surprise though his style of play could be a reason why such news has insinuated.

According to Smith, Irving is a shoot-first kind of a guy, opting to score rather than pass to create situations. It is believed that such is one reason why the Cavs have been turning in inconsistent performances.

LeBron James has been taking the lead in trying to get his teammate involved and critics feel that Irving could do well to follow his lead.

"Irving has to commit to sacrificing his scoring numbers to make his teammates better on a routine basis," Chris Haynes from Cleveland.com said. "James has been growing livid about being the sole proprietor of making sure guys are involved, and in a rhythm. He's used to carrying such a workload, but on this team, he shouldn't have to."

Irving immediately doused water on all that rumors, saying that there wasn’t really anything to address in the first place. Right now, Irving has one thing in mind and that is to win an NBA title.

"For me, as a maturing young player in this league, I know what we have and the opportunity we have in order to be something special,” said Irving in an interview after the Cavs downed the Indiana Pacers 100-96 via ESPN.

For his part, James claims he was unaware of the said reports. The All Star forward has been in the same situation before and is aware of the distractions it can bring.

James is thankful that Irving was able to weather the rumors by playing splendid ball.

James claims he was totally unaware of the talks surrounding Irving’s alleged issues. Despite all that it certainly didn’t show against the Pacers.

The Cavs are leading the Eastern Conference and likely to end up with the no. 1 seed unless some other team (like the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics or Miami Heat) would be able to string up a big run of wins and hope that the Cavs sputter for some reason.

The odds of that happening do seem remote but as it is, the Cavs are looking pretty good headed into the postseason wars.