LeBron James ' social media posts , Kyrie Irving barbs fuel perceived rift . 
LeBron James
Beyond the question of James and whether it 's hard to be his teammate , there are basketball mysteries that will matter much more : Will new addition Jae Crowder help the Cavaliers ' 22nd-ranked defense improve in this regular season ? 
; Will Isaiah Thomas ' ailing hip be better anytime soon so he can fill Irving 's role as James ' worthy sidekick ? 
; Will the Cavs swap their prized 2018 first round pick from Brooklyn for another star as a way of convincing James to re-sign in free agency next summer ? 
Cavs forward LeBron James -LRB- 23 -RRB- high fives forward Kevin Love -LRB- 0 -RRB- during the second half against the Boston Celtics in game two of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden . 
.@KyrieIrving on why he did n't inform LeBron James that he wanted out of Cleveland . 
Right about the time Kyrie Irving was dissecting his departure from Cleveland with ESPN 's "First Take" crew during a Monday visit in Bristol , Ct. , Cavaliers pals LeBron James and Kevin Love were strolling the beautiful UCLA campus after their latest offseason workout . 
Only James knows if the timing of his latest Instagram story was intentional , but it was impossible not to notice the polar-opposite messaging . 
Some 3,000 miles to the West , James and Love - having clearly evolved from those days where their relationship was the one being analyzed -- were looking like the NBA 's version of Bert and Ernie . 
In one corner , you had Irving making it clear that his relationship with James was n't good enough to warrant a conversation about the late July trade request that led to his exit to Boston . 
The notion of James as anything other than a world-class friend and teammate was nowhere to be found . 
Stephen A. Smith , to Irving : "Did you speak to LeBron James , or talk to LeBron James , before you or your representatives met with ownership and let them know that you wanted out ?" 
I really do ," James says to the Bruin alum during their lifting session . 
"Incoming freshman , here shadowing , you know , the upper classmen ; he 's showing me around campus right now ," James says with a smile as they walk . 
Kevin Love brought LeBron James to UCLA for a workout and campus tour . 
; Will Irving mesh with Gordon Hayward , Al Horford & Co. and help end James ' string of seven consecutive trips to the Finals ?
Beyond the question of [TGT] and whether it 's hard to be [TGT] teammate , there are basketball mysteries that will matter much more : Will new addition Jae Crowder help the Cavaliers ' 22nd-ranked defense improve in this regular season ? 
; Will Isaiah Thomas ' ailing hip be better anytime soon so he can fill Irving 's role as [TGT] worthy sidekick ? 
; Will the Cavs swap their prized 2018 first round pick from Brooklyn for another star as a way of convincing [TGT] to re-sign in free agency next summer ? 
Cavs forward [TGT] -LRB- 23 -RRB- high fives forward Kevin Love -LRB- 0 -RRB- during the second half against the Boston Celtics in game two of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden . 
.@KyrieIrving on why he did n't inform [TGT] that he wanted out of Cleveland . 
Right about the time Kyrie Irving was dissecting his departure from Cleveland with ESPN 's "First Take" crew during a Monday visit in Bristol , Ct. , [TGT] were strolling the beautiful UCLA campus after [TGT] latest offseason workout . 
[TGT] knows if the timing of [TGT] latest Instagram story was intentional , but it was impossible not to notice the polar-opposite messaging . 
Some 3,000 miles to the West , [TGT] and Love - having clearly evolved from those days where their relationship was the one being analyzed -- were looking like the NBA 's version of Bert and Ernie . 
In one corner , you had Irving making it clear that his relationship with [TGT] was n't good enough to warrant a conversation about the late July trade request that led to his exit to Boston . 
The notion of [TGT] as anything other than a world-class friend and teammate was nowhere to be found . 
[TGT] , before you or your representatives met with ownership and let [TGT] know that you wanted out ?" 
I really do ,[TGT] says to the Bruin alum during [TGT] lifting session . 
"Incoming freshman , here shadowing , you know , the upper classmen ; [TGT] 's showing me around campus right now ,[TGT] says with a smile as they walk . 
Kevin Love brought [TGT] to UCLA for a workout and campus tour . 
; Will Irving mesh with Gordon Hayward , Al Horford & Co. and help end [TGT] ' string of seven consecutive trips to the Finals ?