Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin has insisted that Kyrie Irving was not consulted over the team's decision to fire coach Mike Brown.
The coach was dismissed earlier this week after the team finished the season with a 33-49 record, during which Irving averaged 20.8 points per game.
Griffin told reporters: "Any, any insinuation that Kyrie had anything to do with this decision is patently false.
"It's unfair. He was not counselled on this decision, nor was he counselled on the previous coaching decision. It's a completely unfair assertion and one that I want everyone to understand very clearly.
"This was a collective approach this season. We made progress collectively in some ways toward the end of the year and we fell short collectively in some ways. So this was absolutely not the blame of anyone. It's shared by everybody."
Former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson, Los Angeles Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry and Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg have all been linked to the vacancy.
