As reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN, All-Star guard Kyrie Irving has asked the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him. That came out of nowhere.
This kind of news and the way it came out can upset the entire league. Now, the Cavs have to map out as many scenarios that can be opened by a possible Kyrie Irving trade. But, it all depends on the Cavaliers accepting his request.
First of all, the reported new General Manager Koby Altman would have a lot of work to do right away as the Cleveland Cavaliers would stop their backup point guard search and start looking for a starting point guard to replace Irving. A step towards that goal was signing free agent point guard Derrick Rose to a one-year, $2.1 million dollar deal.
Other options would come out depending on which team the Cavs would engage in trade talks to deal Kyrie Irving. According to a report from Chris Haynes of ESPN the Cleveland Cavaliers were given four preferred landing spots from Irving: New York, Minnesota, San Antonio, and Miami.
Engaging in trade talks with the New York Knicks would be a really interesting scenario that could include a possible move by another big name, Carmelo Anthony. Carmelo’s name has been swirling around the trade rumors for quite some time now. Cleveland, along with Houston, has been continuously linked to the 33-year-old forward and this could be the right time to make it happen. New York is among the landing spots preferred by Kyrie, and Carmelo wants Cleveland. If New York chooses to throw in a future first-round pick – as suggested by a report from Ian Begley – and Cleveland adds a veteran like Channing Frye or Iman Shumpert to its trade package, this deal won’t be impossible to create. With this trade, New York would have a team built around a Kyrie Irving-Kristaps Porzingis duo and Cleveland would end up with a starting five of Derrick Rose, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Tristan Thompson.
Another scenario we should keep an eye on is Kyrie Irving being traded to San Antonio. The Spurs have to look for a high-profile point guard since Tony Parker is no longer in the prime of his career. They were reportedly among the teams interested in Chris Paul, but now that CP3 has been traded to Houston, Kyrie Irving could be the right guy to place alongside forward Kawhi Leonard. The question is: what assets can San Antonio offer? LaMarcus Aldridge is a player the Spurs should sacrifice in order to absorb Kyrie Irving’s three-year, $60 million contract (with a player option for the third year), but it seems like he would not be a good fit for the Cavaliers as they have their starting frontcourt filled with Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. Here comes another option: adding a third team that can help the deal happen. In this case, keep an eye on the Phoenix Suns, who can absorb significant contracts by offering an interesting name in Eric Bledsoe, another guy that could fill the void in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ starting point guard spot, but also veterans such as Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley, or Brandon Knight. Last but not least, it would not be a surprise if the San Antonio Spurs included shooter Danny Green in the trade package: the Cleveland Cavaliers have been interested in him and had engaged in trade talks with San Antonio on Draft day.
Kyrie Irving’s preferred landing spots, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, also include Minnesota and Miami, but these two options look like the less probable ones. The Timberwolves used their cap space and the Ricky Rubio to Utah trade to sign Jeff Teague, who can’t be traded until December 15th. It would be very hard to start both Kyrie and Teague at the one and two spot. On the other end, the Miami Heat look like they don’t have as many assets as they need to get a star such as Kyrie Irving via a two-team trade. Therefore, it is probable that the Miami Heat should try to get a third team involved in trade talks.
Lastly, a topic that is worth discussion is how the Cleveland Cavaliers will handle this kind of tricky situation. There’s almost no doubt regarding the fact that Kyrie Irving’s decision to ask for a trade will negatively affect the harmony inside the Cavs’ locker room and more importantly, LeBron James’s plan going forward. In fact, as reported by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, when “informed of Irving’s request, James was blindsided and disappointed.” The Cavs know they have to handle this situation the best way they can because if they can’t keep good relations within the organization then they won’t have the guarantee that LeBron will resign once he’ll become a free agent in 2018.
One thing is certain: Kyrie Irving’s request came out like a bomb, which makes this unforgettable offseason even more fascinating.
