LeBron James 'mad' he's not Kyrie Irving's running mate any longer

With the NBA Finals beginning Thursday between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers fans find themselves on the outside looking in again.

Actually, the Cavs are in a bit of turmoil as a coaching search is under way to replace J.B. Bickerstaff, who was dismissed after the injury-riddled team bowed out in the conference semifinals.

LeBron James is also getting the outside-looking-in feeling as his Los Angeles Lakers went out in the first round in the Western Conference. James, of course, helped to deliver the Cavs’ only NBA title in 2016 and the city’s only championship inside 60 years. He did so with the help of Kyrie Irving, who will play in a Finals where he will be the lead storyline.

Irving forced the Cavs to deal him to the Celtics and then the mercurial point guard landed in Brooklyn before eventually finding his way to Dallas.

Here’s hoping he has the sense to realize what James admitted to on the “Mind the Game Pod w/LeBron James and JJ Redick.” They may have messed up a really good thing.

"I would call Kyrie the wizard all the time," James told Redick. "There was nothing on the basketball floor that Kyrie couldn’t do, and sitting here watching it, I’m so (expletive) happy and so proud. And to watch his growth, and at the same time, I’m so (expletive) mad that I’m not his running mate anymore."

The podcast, a former and current player just chopping it up, can be a place to get some truths and James came with one Tuesday when he gave Irving his flowers.

That’s probably a statement most Cavs fans can identify with and just opens the mind to one thought: how many could those two have won together?