Chapter 683: Chapter 683

He looked very angry.

Malone was the assistant coach who dared to call travel on James during a practice game, and this season he’s playing the tough role.

Hansen had been through this before; people get naturally irritable in such a state.

He probably knew the real reason for Irving’s absence from practice.

"I’m planning to DNP Kyrie."

Malone would not allow such a disruptor on the team.

His coaching principle is to treat everyone equally; if Irving is given a pass, managing the team would become much more difficult.

Everyone knew why Hansen’s past Lakers couldn’t succeed no matter who was the head coach or the teammates?

Because when you have a privileged player, or what might be called an "exempt" player, the team loses its discipline.

The reason Malone sought out Hansen was simple: an NBA coach isn’t a college coach, and suspending a star player isn’t decided by the head coach alone.

Naturally, exceptions are guys like Riley or Popovich who also hold upper management roles, as they are no longer just head coaches.

"How many games are you planning to suspend him for?"

"Until he apologizes."

Malone’s answer wasn’t definitive, or you could say it was flexible.

If Irving apologizes before the next game, he wouldn’t be suspended at all.

But if Irving refuses to apologize, it would mean an indefinite suspension.

For the Cavaliers, the second scenario is undesirable as it would magnify internal conflicts and threaten their championship defense.

The first scenario is the preferred outcome since Irving only missed a single practice, and Malone just needed him to make a gesture.

But knowing Irving, Hansen doubted he would apologize.

That’s another reason why Malone came to Hansen.

Although angry, he hadn’t lost his sanity.

Because over two seasons, he had also come to understand Irving’s eccentric personality.

In the Cavaliers, probably only Hansen could get through to him.

After all, without Hansen, Irving would still be the underachiever leading the team to lottery picks.

Hansen nodded; he had been planning to talk to Irving anyway.

After Malone left, Hansen contacted Irving and invited him over for the evening.

Irving was slightly excited on the phone upon hearing this.

Though he’d been to some of Hansen’s bonfires and parties before, this was his first private invite.

When he arrived at Hansen’s house, they had dinner, and then sat by the fireplace to chat.

In November, Cleveland’s night temperature was only four to five degrees, and the warmth of the fireplace was comforting.

They chatted about some funny life events, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

"Kyrie, why did you miss practice before?"

When a topic ended, Hansen moved to the main subject.

His expression was serious enough for Irving to know bluffing about feeling unwell wouldn’t work.

"It was nothing serious, I just missed one practice," Irving replied with a smile, seemingly unconcerned.

Such thought that others were making a mountain out of a molehill was typical of Irving, which worried Hansen.

Hansen had expected at least an explanation of a scheduling conflict.

"Kyrie, I actually didn’t oppose your earlier flat-earth theory; I believe everyone has the right to express their thoughts."

Irving was visibly pleased hearing this; Hansen hadn’t stated his stance to the media before, leading Irving to think Hansen didn’t support him.

"But all that is conditional on it not affecting the team." Hansen continued, switching his tone,

"I’ve said I’m bringing a dynasty to Cleveland, and to achieve that, I’ll give it everything I have, and so must everyone on this team."

Irving looked at Hansen, noticing that Hansen’s expression had shifted from serious to stern.

At that moment, Irving realized why Hansen had invited him over for dinner.

Hansen was a leader who hit opponents hard but was very caring to teammates.

This was the direct impression people had after Hansen returned to Cleveland.

But Irving realized Hansen could also hit teammates hard if necessary.

The Cavaliers’ first game after Thanksgiving was against the Bulls.

Irving wasn’t on the roster due to feeling unwell, nor did he attend the game.

Anyone who heard Hansen’s words would probably have known what to do, but Irving couldn’t be seen through an ordinary lens.

When Malone found Hansen and told him that although Irving promised there wouldn’t be a next time, he still refused to apologize for the previous incident, Hansen directly instructed Malone to DNP Irving.

In response, Irving didn’t travel with the team to Chicago.

The Bulls had restructured their roster this season, but results didn’t meet expectations.

The Bulls management originally wanted to mimic the previous Heat Team, having Big Gasol lead the organization and Wade share the remaining playmaking load as the point guard.

However, they hadn’t anticipated a noticeable drop in Big Gasol’s form this season.

Without his past explosiveness, Wade couldn’t use breakthroughs to compress the opponent’s defense, and his performance as a point guard was mediocre.

Against such an opponent, even without Irving, the Cavaliers effortlessly won the game. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel※fire.net

During the post-game handshake, Hansen noticed the light had disappeared from Wade’s eyes.