Kyrie Irving wants a trade.
This news caused Twitter to explode with memes, trade scenarios, and complaints from Cavaliers fans.
Nobody really saw this coming. Not even LeBron.
Will LeBron leave Cleveland next offseason? Is he going to go to the Lakers? What about Kevin Love?
For now, nobody knows the answers to these questions.
The only question whose answer we can speculate about is: Where will Kyrie Irving get traded?
Let's find out:
1.Philadelphia 76ers: Kyrie Irving Joins the Process
*The 76ers would also include their 2018 First Round Pick
In this trade, Philadelphia includes two young big men in Saric and Okafor, and throws in a solid role player in Robert Covington, as well as their 2018 First Round Pick in exchange for Kyrie Irving. This would solidify the 76ers as the NBA's next big team (after the Warriors dynasty comes to an end). However, the only way Cleveland would do this is if they know LeBron is going to leave and they want young pieces. Even then, I don't see why they would settle for this when they could get better pieces from other teams like Boston or Phoenix.
Probability: 1.9%
2.Washington Wizards: Kyrie Takes His Talents to The Capital
This trade is improbable simply because I doubt that the Wizards would give up John Wall so easily, even if is for a younger point guard. In my opinion, Wall is more valuable.
This season, he averaged 23 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals while posting a PER of 23.2. Kyrie averaged 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal while posting a PER of 23.0.
Obviously, both Wall and Irving are pretty equal. However, I don't see this trade as likely because I doubt that the Wizards would give up John Wall, especially after him signing his new extension.
Probability: 4.6%
3.Milwaukee Bucks: Uncle Drew Meets The Greek Freak
Some people might say that this trade is unfair for Milwaukee, or that they're giving up too much.
Jabari Parker is on the last year of his contract and has an injury history, Thon Maker has a lot of upside but has yet to prove it, Dellavedova is a decent backup point guard, and Malcolm Brogdon is an established player. Don't get me wrong. In this scenario, the Bucks are giving up a lot of assets for Kyrie, but I think that to entice the Cavaliers into actually accepting their trade offer, they have to.
I only see Cleveland taking this trade if they decide to go into rebuilding mode and try to acquire young talent.
Probability: 5.3%
4.New York Knicks: Kyrie and The Unicorn
I know, I know, Derrick Rose is a free agent. The reason I added him to this was because I wanted to see how it would impact Cleveland if they were able to acquire him and Carmelo. This scenario was also mentioned in one of Mike Korzemba's latest videos. I think this trade actually isn't too bad, since the Knicks can finally give up Carmelo, Derrick Rose finds a team to sign with, and Kyrie goes to one of his preferred trade destinations. I think this one of the more likely trade scenarios, but I'm unsure how Carmelo, LeBron, Rose, and Love would play together.
Probability: 19.4%
5.Miami Heat: Kyrie Takes His Talents To South Beach
This was another trade that Mike Korzemba mentioned in his video. In this trade, the Cavaliers acquire a decent replacement for Kyrie, and two young players with upside who the Cavaliers can develop. Again, the Cavaliers would only do this trade if they decide that it's time to rebuild, which they would only decide to do if LeBron plans to leave as well. This trade is decent for the Cavaliers, but I think they can acquire more assets from a trade with Phoenix, or another team with young assets.
Probability: 9.6%
6.Minnesota Timberwolves: The End of the Big 3 Era in Cleveland
*The Celtics would also include Brooklyn's 2018 First Round Pick, which they would send to Phoenix
*The Timberwolves would also include their 2018 Second Round Pick, which they would send to Cleveland
I know, this trade looks crazy and unreasonable. Let me explain.
When I tried experimenting trades with the Timberwolves, I couldn't really find any which would be fair and only involve Cleveland and Minnesota, due to the fact that Minnesota doesn't have the assets to really trade for Irving (except Jeff Teague, who they can't trade as of right now). The only semi-realistic trade I could find which would send Kyrie to Minnesota was if the Timberwolves gave up Wiggins.
However, I don't think this would be fair for Cleveland; they wouldn't even have a starting point guard. As a result, I decided to include Kevin Love in the trade to Boston (since Phoenix wouldn't want Love, but they would want young players), and made Boston give up some of their young talent and the Brooklyn pick. This would help Phoenix rebuild, gives the Timberwolves Kyrie, and gives Cleveland two younger stars in exchange for Love and Irving, not to mention a solid big man in Gorgui Dieng.
I'm unsure if this trade would happen because:
1. The Timberwolves would still be left with Teague and Irving, which doesn't make sense unless they decide to trade Teague later on in the season.
2. The Timberwolves might not be willing to give up Wiggins.
Probability: 8.4%
7.San Antonio Spurs: Uncle Drew Meets Pop
*The Celtics would also include Brooklyn's 2018 First Round Pick, which they would send to Phoenix
*The Spurs would also include their 2018 and 2019 First Round Picks, which they would send to Cleveland
Again, I tried finding a trade to send Kyrie to San Antonio. However, San Antonio doesn't have many assets which would appeal to Cleveland. In this trade, Cleveland only gives up Kyrie and gets Eric Bledsoe and a young forward in Marquese Chriss, as well as a pair of picks from San Antonio, in exchange. This isn't the best package they could receive for Irving.
San Antonio gets Irving and Terry Rozier from Boston, which they only have to give up LaMarcus Aldridge to get.
Boston gets Aldridge, and they give up a package of young players to Phoenix, as well the 2018 Brooklyn First Round Pick, which is going to probably be a top 3 pick.
Phoenix gives up Bledsoe and Chriss, and gets a few young players and a valuable pick in exchange.
This trade is improbable, since it doesn't benefit Cleveland as much as other trades. I don't see Irving going to San Antonio due to the fact that they lack assets which would appeal to Cleveland.
Probability: 8.1%
8.Phoenix Suns: The Two New Mambas
*The Suns would include their 2020 First Round Pick
The Cavaliers, in exchange for Irving, acquire a future pick, Eric Bledsoe, and two young players in Dragan Bender and Derrick Jones Jr. This trade would benefit Phoenix more as it would give them their point guard for the future. Also, it gives Kyrie an environment where he has more control of the team. The only reason I don't see this happening is because it doesn't give Cleveland the best package they could get for Kyrie.
Probability: 5.8%
9.Denver Nuggets: Denver's New Big 3
In this trade, Cleveland gets a plethora of young players and a veteran in Kenneth Faried in exchange for Irving. This trade package is decent if the Cavaliers decide to start rebuilding, but even then, there are better options.
Probability: 2.9%
Kyrie Irving Stays in Cleveland
Honestly, there is a chance that Kyrie stays in Cleveland. I know that there is a lot of confusion in Cleveland right now, but I think there is still a possibility that LeBron, Kyrie, and the Cavaliers stay together.
Conclusion:
There are a lot of Kyrie Irving trade rumors right now. However, I don't really see any which stand out and benefit the Cavaliers enough for them to make the transaction.
Thank you for reading, and please subscribe if you enjoyed.
Credits
Statistics: https://www.basketball-reference.com/
Kyrie Irving Image Credits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/15846988781 (Image Author: Keith Allison); (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/); No changes were made to the original image.
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