Kyrie calls it quits?: Irving asks to be traded
Patrick Zeng
@Roundtripper891
This NBA off-season has been nothing short of spectacular. While its balance of power for play on the court can often be questioned, no one can challenge the ability of the NBA to churn out headlines for the action off of the hardwood. That notion is no different with reports stemming from ESPN that Kyrie Irving has asked Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert to trade him.
This off-season has been a bit of a mess for the reigning eastern conference champions and with this shock request, it may be well on its way to becoming a lot worse. General Manager David Griffin was let go over a contract dispute much to the dismay of LeBron James. James has also been heavily linked to an exit next summer when he hits free agency with Los Angeles to be his rumored destination(because who wouldn't want to play with Josh Hart?). And while all of this has gone on, the Cavs biggest challenge in the east added Gordon Hayward and the Warriors aren't getting any worse. And in response the Cavs have added Jose Calderon and Jeff Green... who are not exactly game changers.
Kyrie requesting a deal away definitely sent shock waves through the league last night. Since coming out as the number one overall pick out of Duke in 2011, he has established himself as one of the top point guards in all of the NBA. He is a pure magician with the ball in his hands and his dribbling skills are unmatched in today's league. Irving is a career 21.6 point a game scorer and is coming off a career year in which he averaged 25.2 points per game. He also adds over five assits per game and is still just 25 years old. Kyrie is also the man that hit the absolute dagger of a three in game seven of the 2016 finals to give Cleveland its first championship since 1964.
So why ask for the move? The Cavs are still expected to be the class of the east this season and are unanimously considered the biggest threat to usurp the Warriors from their greatness. It seems as if Irving truly believes that LeBron is destined for a new home in the summer of 2018 and is trying to beat him to the punch. If LeBron leaves, Kyrie would seem to be trapped in Cleveland as its sole star, with the Cavs then having no desire to move him.
Then again there is still something to said about measuring the Cavs desire to move him this summer too. Yes Irving asked for a trade and even outlined four locations that he'd like to go(San Antonio, Miami, New York and Minnesota), but he is under contract for another three years. He also does not have a no trade clause so outlining destinations he wants to go is pretty much pointless. If the Cavs do want to trade him, it should be where they can get the most back from for a top class guard.
The Cavs are a hard team to read with Dan Gilbert as the owner. They certainly have a touch of dysfunction about them(they even fired their cap expert yesterday), but as long as the best basketball player on the planet takes the court for them they will always have a chance to win. Trading Kyrie would bring about way more negatives than positives for Cleveland and all but ensure that LeBron James is elsewhere for the tip of the 2018/19 season. With that in mind, I don't see Cleveland honoring his request to be dealt, but when it comes to Dan Gilbert who really knows what is about to happen on the banks of lake Eerie.
@Roundtripper891
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| The Undefeated |
This NBA off-season has been nothing short of spectacular. While its balance of power for play on the court can often be questioned, no one can challenge the ability of the NBA to churn out headlines for the action off of the hardwood. That notion is no different with reports stemming from ESPN that Kyrie Irving has asked Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert to trade him.
This off-season has been a bit of a mess for the reigning eastern conference champions and with this shock request, it may be well on its way to becoming a lot worse. General Manager David Griffin was let go over a contract dispute much to the dismay of LeBron James. James has also been heavily linked to an exit next summer when he hits free agency with Los Angeles to be his rumored destination(because who wouldn't want to play with Josh Hart?). And while all of this has gone on, the Cavs biggest challenge in the east added Gordon Hayward and the Warriors aren't getting any worse. And in response the Cavs have added Jose Calderon and Jeff Green... who are not exactly game changers.
Kyrie requesting a deal away definitely sent shock waves through the league last night. Since coming out as the number one overall pick out of Duke in 2011, he has established himself as one of the top point guards in all of the NBA. He is a pure magician with the ball in his hands and his dribbling skills are unmatched in today's league. Irving is a career 21.6 point a game scorer and is coming off a career year in which he averaged 25.2 points per game. He also adds over five assits per game and is still just 25 years old. Kyrie is also the man that hit the absolute dagger of a three in game seven of the 2016 finals to give Cleveland its first championship since 1964.
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| NBA.com |
So why ask for the move? The Cavs are still expected to be the class of the east this season and are unanimously considered the biggest threat to usurp the Warriors from their greatness. It seems as if Irving truly believes that LeBron is destined for a new home in the summer of 2018 and is trying to beat him to the punch. If LeBron leaves, Kyrie would seem to be trapped in Cleveland as its sole star, with the Cavs then having no desire to move him.
Then again there is still something to said about measuring the Cavs desire to move him this summer too. Yes Irving asked for a trade and even outlined four locations that he'd like to go(San Antonio, Miami, New York and Minnesota), but he is under contract for another three years. He also does not have a no trade clause so outlining destinations he wants to go is pretty much pointless. If the Cavs do want to trade him, it should be where they can get the most back from for a top class guard.
The Cavs are a hard team to read with Dan Gilbert as the owner. They certainly have a touch of dysfunction about them(they even fired their cap expert yesterday), but as long as the best basketball player on the planet takes the court for them they will always have a chance to win. Trading Kyrie would bring about way more negatives than positives for Cleveland and all but ensure that LeBron James is elsewhere for the tip of the 2018/19 season. With that in mind, I don't see Cleveland honoring his request to be dealt, but when it comes to Dan Gilbert who really knows what is about to happen on the banks of lake Eerie.
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