Now that news of Kyrie Irving’s request for a trade has been made public, several teams around the NBA (as many as 20) are calling the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office with inquiries regarding his availability. Reportedly, “Uncle Drew,” as he is known, has a list of teams that he would prefer to play for. The only problem is: the interested teams can’t get a clear-cut trade timeline from the Cavs.
Irving, now 25 years of age and entering his seventh season in the NBA, has established himself as one of the best ball-handlers in the game of basketball. There is no doubt that he has played an integral role in Cleveland’s recent success, and just about any team would gladly welcome him to its roster. In his 72 games played for the Cavs last season, the former Duke Blue Devil averaged a career-high 25.2 points on 47 percent shooting from the field (career-high), 5.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 35.1 minutes per contest.
In a live press conference held at Cleveland Clinic Courts last month (July), Cavaliers team owner Dan Gilbert said he expects Irving, who is still under contract for two more seasons, to be in uniform at the start of training camp. Whether or not that statement will actually come to fruition is yet to be seen.
Finances don’t seem to be an issue in the Irving trade talks, as the Cavs could potentially offer him more money than other teams — if he were to play out the remainder of his contract. However, it seems he would like to cut his own path now. Remember, Irving signed his five-year extension with the Cavs roughly 10 days before LeBron James’ now-famous “I’m coming home” letter was released in 2014. At that time, Irving was under the impression that he would be the focal point in Cleveland.
On one hand, Irving’s desire to be “the man” is admirable. Yet, on the other hand, having a player on the roster who you know has requested a trade creates a sticky situation on several different levels. Maybe Irving will be traded, maybe he won’t be. For now, hoops fans will have to wait for a final decision.