5 Potential Trade Destinations For Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving shocked the basketball world on Friday when it leaked out that he has asked the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade him. With that crazy news in mind, we’re going to take a look at a few possible trade destinations for Irving.

First, we should explore what a team would be getting in the 25-year-old point guard. Irving is coming off his best season as a professional, one in which he averaged a career-high 25.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 35.1 minutes per game. His PER of 23.09 was a career-high, and his true shooting percentage of 58.0 almost eclipsed his best mark of 58.3.

A four-time All-Star, Irving ranked 17th in the NBA in offensive win shares (7.4), 23rd in total win shares (8.9), 44th in win shares per 48 (.170) and 30th in value over replacement player (2.9). Irving also has a wealth of playoff experience, is one of the game’s best finishers around the rim and has helped lead the Cavs to a title. He’s clearly one of the league’s best players.

Irving currently has three years and $60.3 million left on his contract. So he’s a superstar-level player at the most important position in basketball. He’s on a relatively cheap contract and is entering his prime. The cost to land him will be enormous.

The potential trade partners for the Cavs as far as we see them are on the following pages.

*Just a note, in some of these proposed deals salary ballast would obviously need to be added. We’re just focusing on the key players that would exchange spots, not the additional guys who could be waived once a trade is consummated.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns are absurdly young and have a wealth of undeveloped talent they could offer in return for Irving. With Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender on the roster from the last two drafts alone, Phoenix has pieces to deal. Any of those players would need to be paired with current point guard Eric Bledsoe to make a deal work.

Irving would replace Bledsoe and team with Devin Booker to create one of the NBA’s most exciting backcourt duos. Meanwhile, the Cavs would land Bledsoe — who is still young (27) and is coming off a career-best season (21.1 points, 6.3 assists) — and one or more young players to develop. One would assume Jackson, Bledsoe and a draft pick would be enough for Irving, or the Cavs could push for Bledsoe, Chriss, Bender and a pick. Either way, this matchup could work.

San Antonio Spurs

While this seems like it might be an odd fit, I’m really high on some of the young guys the Spurs have, and given the dearth of talent on Cleveland’s second unit, I think a deal with the Spurs could work. San Antonio is desperate for a next-level point guard to compete in the West and was hoping to land Chris Paul this offseason. Unfortunately, he went to the rival Houston Rockets, and Kyle Lowry re-signed with the Toronto Raptors.

The Spurs could offer Dejounte Murray (who I’m really high on), 2017 first-rounder Derrick White (a big-time sleeper), Bryn Forbes (who lit up Summer League) and Kyle Anderson (who is loaded with potential). Those guys, plus Danny Green’s contract ($20 mil over the next two seasons) likely would be enough.

I’d love a deal like that for the Cavs. They’d stock the bench with talented, young players, as Murray is 20, while White, Forbes and Anderson are all 23. Murray is on the cusp of being a starting guard in the league and playing next to LeBron James would improve his game tremendously.

Meanwhile, the Spurs would get the lead guard they’ve coveted all offseason. Tony Parker isn’t gonna cut it any longer, and Patty Mills is nothing more than a second-unit guy.

Los Angeles Clippers

This would only work if the Cavs wanted to really reshuffle the deck. They could pair Irving and Tristan Thompson and ship them both to Los Angeles. In return they would demand DeAndre Jordan, Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker and Brice Johnson.

Despite his quirks, Jordan is a three-time All-NBA performer (First Team in 2016) and would be a massive improvement over Thompson. Beverley is a defensive stopper at the point who would take over for Irving, while Dekker and Johnson would add an infusion of youth to the bench and offer some upside.

The Clippers have a massive hole at point guard after Paul bolted for the Rockets, and they need another star if they want to compete in the Western Conference. Irving would give them that, and while Thompson is wildly overpaid, Doc Rivers had success with Kendrick Perkins, a similar type of player. Plus, Thompson might be more motivated since he’d be in the same town as his girlfriend, Khloe Kardashian.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers are building with a ton of young talent, but they definitely could use a star to build around. It would be a coup to land Irving. But, as noted, the cost would be steep. The Sixers would have to surrender young talent to even get in the ballpark of an Irving trade, but if they got him, they quickly thrust themselves into contention in a weak Eastern Conference.

Cleveland would almost certainly ask for several young pieces in exchange for their established All-Star. Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric, Jahlil Okafor, Furkan Korkmaz, Justin Anderson and Robert Covington would all be on the table. I think Fultz, Korkmaz and Covington is a fair package for Irving.

Fultz was far and away the best player in the 2017 NBA Draft, Korkmaz is a 19-year-old shooting guard with a ton of upside and Covington is one of the NBA’s best wing defenders. Each has prototypical size and length for his position. If the Cavs are truly looking at a full-scale rebuild after next season — presuming LeBron bolts in free agency — those are three great pieces to start with. Or, they could simply demand Fultz and Saric. Either way they’d be getting a heck of a young, talented package in return.

Meanwhile, though the Sixers would be giving up a ton, they would be able to run out a lineup that had Irving, Simmons, J.J. Redick and Joel Embiid. That’s still fantastic and would immediately be a threat in the East.

Boston Celtics

Want a shot at beating the Golden State Warriors? Then go get Kyrie Irving. I know, Celtics fans love Isaiah Thomas, and he’s coming off an MVP-level campaign, but in the long run, Irving is the better player. And it’s not particularly close.

Thomas is 28 and at just 5’9″ there’s a serious risk that he’ll break down rapidly. He may never reach the heights he did during the 2016-17 season again, and he’s due for a huge raise as he hits free agency next year.

The Cavs would want Thomas in return, but given that he’s an impending free agent (and is three years older than Irving) it will take far more than that to get a deal done. Cleveland would ask for either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, plus Ante Zizic and the Los Angeles Lakers first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft (which Boston acquired from Philadelphia before this year’s draft).

That sound like a lot? Well, remember, the Celtics might lose Thomas next season anyway. With Gordon Hayward and Al Horford’s contracts, plus the team’s role players, it’s going to be tough to fit IT4’s new deal under the cap. Irving has a far more palatable deal. Brown and Tatum will struggle to find minutes on the wing, so unloading one of those guys makes sense. The Cavs will demand one of the Celtics’ top picks, and Boston isn’t going to surrender the Nets’ pick in 2018. Zizic could be a solid player, but he’s a wild card and the Cavs want some more height in the post.

In the end, Boston would wind up with a rotation that would include Irving, Hayward, Horford, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, Aron Baynes and Brown or Tatum. That squad would absolutely be the favorite to win the East.

Meanwhile, the Cavs would get Thomas, and a ton of young, controllable assets to build with. Thomas could also help convince LeBron to stay in Cleveland, but if they both wound up bolting in 2018, the franchise would have pieces to build with.