Kyrie Irving "Might Be Willing" to Push for a Trade as Cavs Implosion Nears
By Jason McIntyre
A lot of crazy, bizarre things are happening in the NBA right now, but don’t overlook this report from the Chicago Sun-Times, which claims Kyrie Irving could push for a trade because it looks like LeBron James may be leaving:
"All-Star Kyrie Irving has been contacting some of his former Team USA teammates and letting them know that he might be willing to push for a trade, especially if he feels the Cavs’ run could end quickly with James able to opt out after next season."
I’m not all that familiar with the author of the piece, and there are several potentially juicy bits of info in there, but the reason the Kyrie bit intrigued me: it’s further proof LeBron is going to be leaving in 2018. If Kyrie was confident in the Cavs’ plans to contend for the next few years, why would he be (allegedly) reaching out to “former Team USA teammates.” I’m also puzzled as to who those players could be.
The league is littered with really good point guards (Russell Westbrook, John Wall, etc), but what you really need to make deep runs in the playoffs are versatile wing players.
Where’s Kyrie going? The Knicks need a point guard, but they don’t have money. Nobody in the West needs a point guard except the Spurs … and they seem to have targeted Chris Paul.
Either way, if the Cavs “rent” Paul George, then it’s clear LeBron is leaving in 2018, and maybe Kyrie Irving pushes for a trade, too.