To me it's kinda funny cause even though we're talking about Irving being moved, it's like it's all about Lebron here, if Gilbert knows Bron is gone anyway, why would he want to get solid players/veterans for Irving? Just trade him for young players and picks, trade Love too and rebuild as quick as you can until they don't have a say in their destination due to their last year of contract, waiting another year wouldn't change anything anyway, i don't see a realistic trade that can put them on par with GS.
It's pretty much the same dynamic that Lebron and Kyrie share now. Kyrie can playmake on the oustide for himself and break down defenders while Wall (Lebron extra lite) playmakes for others. Not so different than what he has going for him now in Cleveland.
Except Wall is about 50% the player LeBron is, that's all. Also consider Beal is signed through 2022 and Kyrie becomes unrestricted in 2019. The notion of Kyrie freelancing while everyone else plays team ball is a recipe for failure if winning a championship is the goal. If the main point is building Kyrie's brand, sounds like a plan.
Wall just signed a max. Kyrie will want the max in a couple years. They'd be maxing out two point guards?! Who's playing the 2? Kyrie? He's already not that good of a defender.
They'd do just like Harden did with Bev here... Wall will play the best offensive guard for the other team. Don't act like it's Rocket science bruh. The league isn't about definitive positions anymore and a 1 guards another 1 or 2 guards other 2s. It can be switched up defensively based on matchups. You didn't see much of Westbrook guarding Harden in the Thunder series, so it's adjustable.
That's horrible...Westbrook guarded Pat because they had Roberson to guard Harden. Who do the wizards have to guard Harden now? Wall? Be serious. Only team that gets away with both front court players that small is Boston and that's because Bradley is a really good defender.
I think the bigger story to the rumor is that if LeBron was willing to trade a young superstar PG entering his prime for CP3 who is exiting his prime just b/c that's one of his best friends and they've always wanted to play together, it makes our LeBron pipe dream that much more realistic now that we have CP3. Add to that the drama in Cleveland and the little rocket emoji's he keeps randomly using and the fact that he's been quoted as saying he would like to finish his career playing with CP3 and Melo....
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ving-cleveland-cavaliers-potential-trades-nba The Cavaliers are projecting confidence they can snare a king's ransom for Kyrie Irving, and more than that, they are acting -- for now -- as if a trade is almost inevitable, and that there is little chance of salvaging their relationship with him, according to several sources familiar with the situation. James Harden -- a name Irving's camp has mentioned -- yearned to run his own show, and then chafed when Dwight Howard homed in on his territory. Cleveland is seeking a bundle of assets, but the highest priority right now is snagging a blue-chip young player, according to sources across the league. That is not necessarily a signal they think James is leaving. They would like to get everything: one or two veterans who can help LeBron dethrone Golden State, that blue-chipper, and picks. They want to prepare for a worst-case scenario of LeBron leaving without shoving him out the door by acquiring players he deems unready. Even so, the blue-chipper appears to be their guidepost, sources say. Most teams, including the asset-rich Celtics, have placed the obligatory call letting Cleveland know they would like to be kept in the loop, sources say. Boston could offer Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and one of their golden picks -- Brooklyn's pick next season, or the Lakers/Kings pick they got from Philly in the Markelle Fultz deal. It's unclear if they would dangle all of that, but those picks could represent the young stud Cleveland needs. Regardless, a deal between the East's two best teams seems unlikely. Everyone wants to swap Irving for Eric Bledsoe, a nice replacement who shares an agent with James. But what else is Phoenix sending? The combination of Jared Dudley, a snug fit around LeBron, and a future first-round pick probably isn't getting it done -- even if the Suns swallow Iman Shumpert. Phoenix isn't tossing in Devin Booker. Josh Jackson could be the swing piece after Phoenix and Cleveland indeed talked around the draft about a swap involving the No. 4 pick, but the Suns were thrilled Jackson landed there. If the Suns relent on Jackson, Cleveland and Phoenix might able to work a simple two-team deal. Lots of folks have suggested three-team deals in which the Cavaliers end up with both Bledsoe and Official Team Banana Boat Photographer Carmelo Anthony, with Irving going to New York, and Shumpert and Channing Frye flying around to various non-Cleveland participants. It will be hard to make those deals worth Phoenix's while. Perhaps Frank Ntilikina and an unprotected Knicks pick would be enough. But the Suns presumably would like to have at least one or two rotation players of drinking age. That's why the third team in any trade is so often a salary-dumping ground: It is hard to incentivize three teams all trying to win the deal from a talent perspective. Anthony and Bledsoe also make $40.7 million combined, about $4.1 million more than the Irving/Shumpert/Frye trio. That $4.1 million counts almost quadruple for a team as far over the tax line as Cleveland. Lance Thomas would be a tasty side dish in any Melo deal, but he only adds more salary and tax. Miami could save Cleveland money by offering Dragic, Wayne Ellington, and Justise Winslow for Shumpert and Irving, but Cleveland would likely turn up its nose unless the market proves cool. Miami cannot trade any first-round pick that's earlier than their 2023 selection. After two bricky, injury-riddled seasons, Winslow has to play his way back into blue-chip status. LeBron has little use for non-centers who can't shoot. Atlanta has three extra first-round picks, but not the sort of roster talent that would entice Cleveland. You could build some interesting Atlanta-Phoenix-Cleveland mega-deals with Bledsoe going to the Cavs and Irving to Atlanta, but, again, the Suns always come up on the short end unless they have a weird jones for Dennis Schroder. The Bucks could dangle Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, and two unprotected first-rounders. Brogdon and Middleton are switchy defenders who both shot 40 percent from deep last season -- tailor-made for the Warriors. Irving would push Giannis Antetokounmpo off the ball, but Antetokounmpo can be effective in that role with Thon Maker spacing the floor at center; imagine an Irving-Antetokounmpo pick-and-roll, with three capable shooters around it. There are too many pitfalls. James needs a second bucket-getter who can break down the defense; Middleton and Brogdon can do a little of that, but not enough over long stretches against elite postseason defenses. The Bucks will always be Antetokounmpo's franchise, and he needs the ball a lot. Is Irving OK with that? He should be. Both guys should be smart enough to lean on each other within a larger system of ball movement. That is what makes Denver such an intriguing partner. The Nuggets put the ball in Nikola Jokic's hands in mid-December, and discovered they had been sitting on the league's most potent offense. The actualized version of Jamal Murray is the perfect point guard to orbit Jokic: cut all over the place for Jokic's sling passes, run zig-zaggy handoffs with him, and space the floor. The current version of Irving is a very different sort of player. He wants the ball. He wants the level of control Jokic enjoys -- and even a level beyond that. There would be a painful adjustment period. The price would be steep. Cleveland would likely ask for Wilson Chandler, Gary Harris, Murray, and a first-round pick. Dealing both Harris and Murray would blow a hole in Denver's exciting young core; if Irving signs elsewhere in two years, what do they have left? They would surely fight to keep one, and might even make doing so a deal-breaker. Flipping Chandler, an essential ingredient in any Denver-Cleveland deal, would open a void at small forward. Denver might be able to scramble with Will Barton, Juancho Hernangomez, and a minimum-level free agent like Gerald Henderson or Arron Afflalo. Still: That is a concern for a team hell-bent on making the playoffs. That theoretical Denver package doesn't net LeBron a traditional point guard ready to handle as much of the heavy lifting as Irving has. The Nuggets could rope in Brooklyn for a three-team trade in which Cleveland would receive Jeremy Lin, Chandler, Harris, and a pick -- with the Nets gobbling up unwanted money, including Shumpert, for draft assets. Denver might keep Murray in this scenario, but they'd have to send out picks. There have been no rumblings yet about Lin, or the Nets participation as a third wheel in any Irving deal, league sources say. The bond between Kenny Atkinson, Brooklyn's coach, and Lin runs deep, and the Nets want to see how D'Angelo Russell looks next to Lin. Finding a third team is essential for Cleveland to acquire another target that makes sense: old friend Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins makes about $11 million less than Irving. Minnesota has no appealing contracts to make the money match, or to send to a third team like Phoenix that could supply Cleveland a point guard (Bledsoe). LeBron may demand a more seasoned veteran along with Wiggins, who has never sniffed the playoffs. Minnesota cannot move Jeff Teague until Dec. 15, which is an either an intractable problem or an inconvenience to be waited out. Lin could be the lever that activates three-team deals here, too, with Brooklyn extracting draft picks to absorb Cole Aldrich and perhaps one other small salary. Minnesota has only 11 players under contract, meaning a 3-for-1 deal would leave them with half a roster. Maybe that is Tom Thibodeau's fever dream, so that he can play everyone 40-plus minutes. Philly's level of interest is unclear, but the bet here is that they want to settle in and see what they have. Utah's post-Gordon Hayward roster doesn't offer an easy trade fit. San Antonio's path to a deal is murky. I am perhaps unnaturally intrigued with pairing Irving and Anthony Davis in New Orleans. Davis is almost the ideal co-pilot for a ball-dominant point guard. He's a pick-and-roll dance partner who can isolate and post up when Irving needs a respite, and use the threat of his jump shot to draw defenders out of the lane. He doesn't have the ball-handling to initiate possessions, but puts his mark on them every step of the way. He is basically a first option without all the dribbling -- a trick that convinces Irving the team is his. For this to work, Cleveland would have buy DeMarcus Cousins as a Golden State bully-ball destroyer for LeBron, and a potential centerpiece who would re-sign if LeBron bolts. That leaves a lot to chance. Chicago has nothing (and never really did beyond Jimmy Butler) The Chris Paul dream is dead.
It's going to be super messed up when the Rockets turn around and trade CP3 to Cavs for Irving before the season even starts. Thanks for recruiting PJ Tucker and Mbah Moute to play here for less Chris, but you gotta go now...
Hell no. Cp3 > irving. Who cares about age, we are in win now mode finally. Irvings defense next to harden would be bad.
that is not the only things that would be in the trade.... some people just look at the players in a trade, other things like salary relief, draft picks can be involved as well
what does this sentence even mean? Irving's camp mentioned Harden in what context? As a person to trade for Irving? wtf? even the Brooklyn Nets wouldn't be that stupid.
I THINK they are saying Irving mentioned Harden in the sense that Irving was saying he should be the franchise player like Harden?
I dont recall Harden really demanding from OKC to trade him because he wanted to run his own show. If i remember correctly, didn't he just want more than OKC was willing to pay? I think Harden was also shocked by the trade too.
It's hard to understand the writer's intent. I took it as, Irving's camp is pointing to Harden successfully running his own show as a reason why he wants out. He feels he can be that type of star.
