Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is a young, talented player and is one of the best scorers in the NBA. As such, the price tag for acquiring him is quite high. Irving wants out of Cleveland, but the Cavaliers have no obligation to trade him; they won’t unless they very much like the package that they would be receiving for him. The Cavs want a young star, like one of the following players (from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski), in exchange for Irving:
The Cavaliers find themselves far more fixated on a young star, including New York’s Kristaps Porzingis, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Phoenix’s Josh Jackson and Denver’s Jamal Murray, league sources told ESPN.
The Spurs want Irving, but without the Cavs being sure whether or not LeBron James will remain in Cleveland past this season, San Antonio is unable to put together a sufficient offer (at least without giving up Kawhi Leonard):
The Spurs have interest in Irving, league sources say, and Irving’s willingness to commit to an extension with the Spurs makes for legitimate win-now deal possibilities for Cleveland. Without James beyond next season, though, the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Danny Green hold no appeal.
Like the Spurs, the Bucks would like to acquire Irving but don’t have the pieces to offer without giving up a player much more valuable than Irving:
Milwaukee has shown interest in Irving, too, league sources said, but there isn’t that one young star — of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo is untouchable — who makes sense for Cleveland.
The Celtics are also a plausible option:
Boston has expressed interest in Irving and could offer the best combination of short-term (Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder) and long-term (Jaylen Brown, Tatum, picks) assets. The Celtics have made no formal offer, and it is against Boston’s front-office DNA to push out front with the most generous offer. Boston knows that Cleveland is mostly intrigued with Tatum, but the sides have not formally discussed that deal, league sources said.
