Is kyrie even a top 10 player ? He might be a top 20 player ... But even then I'm not sure . It's not clear how big of a boost he's getting ( and its big) from playing with Lebron . If he gets his "own" team and is the sole focus of defenses , watch his efficiency number fall and his defense get put into the spotlight .
According to ESPN's Real Plus Minus rating, Kyrie is actually either the 39th or the 53rd best player during the regular season, depending if you account for minutes played. http://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/sort/WINS He is probably better than this when it comes to playoffs/important games, where he pays more attention on the defensive end and also his shot generation is valuable during crunch time. He is talented, but the Cavs just don't win whenever LeBron sits down.
538's system considers him a "GAMMA" level player (Tier 3 star.) Good enough to be part of a title core, but not if he's your best player. Ranks behind Paul George, Mike Conley and Isaiah Thomas and ahead of Deandre Jordan, Paul Milsap and Otto Porter Jr. (in that order) The Damian Lillard comparison seems appropriate. Lillard scores a 3.3 on their scale (6 being the tier 1 star line) and Irving a 2.8.
The biggest problem with Kyrie is that his size and poor defense means that he has to be teamed with another guard that is a good defender and capable of guarding bigger and smaller guards.
Sources: Gilbert beside himself. Driving around downtown Cleveland begging (thru texts) Irving's family 4 address to Kyrie's home. - Chris Broussard probably
Koby Altman So you're telling me that Blake Griffin, Gordon Hayward, Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, and Kyle Lowry -- for as good as they are...are better than John Wall, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, and Damian Lillard????? Otto Porter > Klay Thompson = Victor Oladipo ?? ayeeeeee! come on now!
Lol i dont know if i believe this....what is kyrie smoking? My guess is carmelo is the best player available. It makes no sense for the cavs and pretty much guarantees lebron leaves when it does not work with an aging melo as the second best player. It looks like the suns is a no because they wont give up their rookie, only bledsoe. The heat wont deal whiteside, considering they already have a lot invested in the pg spot. The spurs dont have jack outside of leonard The wolves wont give up wiggins. Teague is not nearly enough and he cant even be dealt yet. Towns is untouchable.
If I were Cavs management I'd be so annoyed by the timing of this. Had Kyrie made this request immediately after the season they could have been involved in Jimmy Butler and Paul George talks. They could have possibly convinced CP3 to do a sign and trade to play with LeBron. They may have convinced Gordon Hayward to do a sign and trade. So many possibilities that are gone now.
