Kyrie on not talking to LeBron about trade demand: 'Why would I have to?'

Kyrie Irving gave his most comprehensive interview yet Monday since being traded to the Boston Celtics, dodging questions for half an hour on whether he had a personal fallout with LeBron James. However, he did shed some light on why he wanted to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, alluding cryptically to a lack of a "truthful environment."

"When you think about the journey and then you also put things into perspective for what they really are, it's a truthful environment and I wasn't getting that," Irving told ESPN's "First Take."

"And that's where it really stands."

Irving also confirmed he didn't talk to James before demanding a trade, saying he wasn't obligated to.

"No," Irving responded on whether he'd spoken to James prior. "Why would I have to?"

Irving expanded on the topic further:

"I don't think that you owe anything to another person in terms of figuring out what you want to do with your life," he said. "There comes a time when you mature as an individual ... I want to be extremely, extremely happy in perfecting my craft."

When asked by Max Kellerman if "perfecting his craft" gives him a better shot of winning an NBA title with the Boston Celtics, Irving offered a possible slight at James.

"The overall attention to one player in a collective, as Stephen A. (Smith) would say, is blasphemy," he replied.

Irving added that his decision to get out of Cleveland was made after the Cavs lost the NBA Finals in five games to the Golden State Warriors in June.

"It all came crashing down at one point after we lost the last Finals," Irving said. "All I wanted to do was figure out, continue to figure out myself, and once I did that I was able to step up and make the decision."

Asked by Smith if he can win without James, Irving wasn't decisive at first.

"Time will tell," he offered.

Smith replied, "I asked you what you believe."

"Oh absolutely."