A Kyrie Irving Trade For Every Team
It’s August 22, 2017, twenty-nine days since Kyrie Irving requested to be traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers. We’ve had almost a full month of speculation, hypothetical trades, and overblown narratives, and in the end, everyone is still where they started.
That’s OK. Trading Irving is a major personnel decision, and the Cavs are right to take their time in exploring it. Cleveland is reportedly looking to add a young player with star potential, and has expressed an interest in Kristaps Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson, and Jamal Murray specifically.
The team’s decision to go young, and not attempt to tailor their roster around Lebron James for another Finals push, began as a self-imposed framework, but has gained external steam when a report surfaced that James does not intend to stay in Cleveland beyond the upcoming season, a claim which Lebron’s camp later denied.
It’s unclear what will happen in one year’s time, but the conflicting reports highlight the bind that the Cavs find themselves in. They have the best player on Earth on their team for at least one more year, as well as an All-Star sidekick who wants out in Irving.
Cleveland can look to land a return for Irving that will make them a stronger threat against the Golden State Warriors in the present, leveraging the time they have with James on the roster for a run at a championship, or they can attempt to get ahead of his exit and begin a rebuild by pursuing a package of prospects instead.
For the record, I’m a fan of the latter, even in the face of an increasing likely Lebron departure next summer.
The Cavs could, alternatively, just stand pat. There’s a reasonable argument to be made that Kyrie is a better building block than anyone Cleveland will be able to trade him for. As of now the plan seems to be to move on though, so we’ve put together some hypotheticals to mull over.
One for every single team in fact. Some are more realistic than others, but we value inclusion here, so everyone gets a trade. I left out any specificity around which years draft picks should come in and what protections they should have, so feel free to make up your own fine details along the way.
Everything is alphabetical. Let’s dive in.
Atlanta Hawks

This deal only makes sense if the Cavs think they have a reasonable chance of retaining Lebron James next summer, or maybe even just any chances at all. Kent Bazemore and Taureen Prince are exactly the type of versatile, slightly below average wings that James can turn into extremely valuable rotation players, via his individual brilliance.
Dennis Schroeder, though certainly not a perfect fit, could function as something of an immediate plug and play replacement as the team’s starting point guard.
As mentioned above, growing speculation suggests that a sustained union between James and the Cavs is highly unlikely, though, and that means a trade like this one has very little chance of gaining any traction. Turning Irving and James into this haul would be an unmitigated roster building disaster. It’s not worth the risk for Cleveland.
Boston Celtics

I’ve written about this before here, and here, oh and here too, so I’ll try to keep things brief. The key takeaway is this: Threat of helping a major conference rival aside, trading for Irving only makes sense for the Celtics if they have reason to believe that Isaiah Thomas’ production is about to take a precipitous dip, AND doubt that Tatum’s (or another young player or pick that could replace him in this deal) ceiling has no chance of reaching the same height as Irving’s.
Brooklyn Nets

There’s not a whole lot to work with here. Maybe there is some appeal to Cleveland if the Cavs are very high on D’Angelo Russell (count me out), maybe. He’s a theoretical star in the making, and Cleveland could see how a new team suits Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (also count me out), a young player who might benefit from a different system. They also get Trevor Booker as a bit of insurance should Tristan Thompson go down.
Suffice is to say, that’s not enough.
Charlotte Hornets

Apologies to Bill Simmons, who proposed the guts of this trade via podcast last week (and apologies to any others that resemble trades proposed elsewhere). There are only so many player permutations available that make any sense though, so not all that sorry.
The logic here is clear. Cleveland gets a very good player, who can replace a decent amount of Irving’s production in Walker, a change of scenery candidate in MKG, and a flyer on the prospect of Malik Monk outperforming his draft slot (not to mention the immediate benefit of his shooting).
Charlotte gets the most talented player in team history that isn’t actually their owner.
Chicago Bulls

I apologize for making you even think about a trade this bad, but let me make up for it via the following conspiracy theory. Indulge me for a moment if you will. What if the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler for such a pittance because they wanted to use their own deal as a market setter for the player they always wanted all along…Kyrie Irving?
Oh what’s that? The Chicago front office is just incompetent. OK. Let’s move along.
Dallas Mavericks

The appeal here is that Cleveland might see this trade as an opportunity to toe the line between present and future. Wes Matthews and Seth Curry fit in nicely to the Cavs’ system, and the two picks give them a crack at landing a future star via the draft.
The trouble is that this deal probably lowers Cleveland’s ceiling in both situations. Matthews and Curry clearly aren’t as good as Irving, and the Mavs with Kyrie are a low-end playoff team, with considerable room for improvement. That means any picks they offer aren’t likely to be coming at the top of the draft, decreasing the probability of landing a top-tier talent.
If the Cavs wanted to go full hog on rebuilding, they might be able to ask for an interesting haul centered around Dennis Smith Jr. That would all but signal the end of the second Lebron era.
Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets, to me, are the most logical landing place for Irving. They have a ton of players that are good in the present, look like they could be good in the future, or are a combination of the two. I like the fit of these four into Cleveland’s current system, and potential to take on a more meaningful role should the team enter a rebuilding phase.
The Nuggets still have more to offer. Gary Harris, Will Barton, and even an Emmanuel Mudiay reclamation project all remain as possible substitutes to the framework included above. They’re deep enough to surrender a considerable amount of talent without exposing themselves to the type of gutting they performed on the Knicks in the Carmelo Anthony trade.
That makes them unique, and possibly the best candidate for a deal. The Celtics can offer a more enticing package, but they have a lot less incentive to do so. This might not be the final offer, but don’t be surprised if Irving ends up in Denver.
Detroit Pistons

I’m so sorry I couldn’t do better. If this is all Cleveland gets back for Irving, something has gone terribly awry.
Golden State Warriors

Thompson is the most even talent-for-talent swap that the Cavs could ever ask for (possibly even an upgrade, at least from this observer’s perspective), and his contract matches up perfectly. There’s no way that the Dubs would ever make this trade, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream.
How fun would a Curry-Irving backcourt be? And what player would complement James more perfectly than Thompson? He’s basically J.R. Smith if he were taller and considerably better at every aspect of basketball there is. Lebron’s never played next to anybody with the pairing of defensive chops and ability to influence an offensive possession without touching the ball even close to what Thompson offers. Alas, this isn’t happening.
Houston Rockets

Houston General Manager Daryl Morey is always on the hunt for top-end talent. But the Rockets don’t need another point guard. But Daryl Morey is always on the hunt for top-end talent.
Sorry. I’m just trying to make this one more interesting. The Rockets don’t have the goods to get Irving.
Indiana Pacers

I came into this process assuming I would use this space to make fun of the Pacers for trading Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, when they could have moved him for Irving had they just waited, but then I started playing around with things a bit, and I actually kind of like Indiana as a trade partner.
Myles Turner, who I’m admittedly very high on, is the linchpin here. He has a combination of rim protection (when engaged), switchable athleticism, and three point shooting that none of the Cavs bigs can provide. Essentially, he’s good at enough things not to get played off the court against the Warriors the way Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson sometimes do. He’s also a potential All-Star caliber building block post-Lebron, allowing Cleveland to walk the tightrope between present and future all by himself.
Add in a defensive-minded point guard in Corey Joseph, and one more athletic, semi-switchable big to test out in Thad Young, and you’ve got something interesting. Cleveland wouldn’t be nearly as potent offensively, but they’d still be good, and a good deal more respectable on defense.
This whole thing falls apart a bit if you’re not a big believer in Turner, and the Pacers have never actually given any indication that they’re willing to part with him. Landing Irving means giving up really good stuff though, and the Pacers would be wise to pursue the opportunity should it be presented to them.
Los Angeles Clippers

I feel bad. You didn’t deserve that. There’s nothing that works here. On a semi-related note though, if Cleveland does move Irving and winds up with a hole at the point, they should go after Patrick Beverly. That guy would be perfect next to Lebron.
Los Angeles Lakers

This trade is something of a paradox. It would signal the end of contention in Cleveland and a subsequent commitment to letting James walk. If that were the case, then the Lakers probability of landing the King next year would go up, which means they most certainly wouldn’t make this trade.
Bringing in a player that is rubbed the wrong way by your big free agent target, who also happens to be the best player on Earth is never a good idea.
Memphis Grizzlies

Mike Conley Jr. is a very good player, and there may even be a logical argument to be made that he’d make the Cavs better in the upcoming season. He’s not, however, a player a team can build around for years to come, and in that sense this trade is probably not very appealing to Cleveland. Troy Daniels, James Ennis III, and a pick aren’t enough to change that opinion.
Miami Heat

Now we’re heating up (see what I did there). I like this deal a lot. Cleveland gets an immediate Kyrie replacement in Goran Dragic, a player dripping with potential in Justise Winslow, and a long, defensively gifted combo guard in Richardson, more than capable of knocking down the oodles of open looks he would likely encounter with the Cavs.
It’s possible that Cleveland would still be the heavy favorite to win the Eastern Conference after this deal, which is something that can’t be said about a lot of these trade. The major sticking point is Winslow. If you think, and I do, he can be a star someday, then you probably pull the trigger on this thing. If, alternatively, you believe that he’s never going to learn to shoot and continue to struggle with injuries, you most certainly don’t.
The burden of star-level proof lies with Winslow. He’s coming off an injury severe enough to cause him to miss most of last year, and hasn’t shown at any point in his career that he is what everyone hoped he could be.
He’s good enough defensively to be a useful player, particularly against smaller units, like those that the Warriors use to dominate the league, but he has a long way to go on offense. That doesn’t mean he won’t get there, but it does mean trading a player with Irving’s talent for him is a pretty major risk.
Milwaukee Bucks

This trade fascinates me. Khris Middleton is a very good player, and would be an extremely useful piece in matching up with Golden State. While Parker fits less clearly into Cleveland’s current system, he represents a star-level talent to build around should that system collapse in Lebron’s absence.That is when he’s on the court at least.
Parker has suffered multiple major injuries, and banking on him both being the same player he was before his most recent stint on the DL AND staying on the court enough for the Cavs to take advantage of his talent is most definitely a roll of the dice.
Middleton doesn’t exactly have the cleanest historical bill of health himself, and that is at the core of why this trade won’t happen. It leaves Cleveland taking on all the downside risk.
Minnesota Timberwolves

Andrew Wiggins is probably the best individual talent the Cavs can reasonably expect to land for Irving. The trouble is that he’s not as good. He’s a gifted scorer, but isn’t capable of turning into the type of world consuming inferno Kyrie becomes when he’s really hot, and he comes with just as many defensive deficiencies.
Wiggins has the length and athleticism to be elite on the defensive end, and he’s only 22, so he still has plenty of time to grow. He could contribute immediately on offense, though Cleveland would have a decent amount of ball stopping to drill out of him should they want to indoctrinate him into the current culture.
He’s also plenty good to be part of a team’s long-term core, and could serve, much like Turner (see Pacers trade if you missed it), as a bridge to and a part of the team’s future. If Cleveland thinks Wiggins has several more jumps in development coming, they should go get him.
This of course assumes that he’s available. Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor sort of said he intends to sign Wiggins to a max extension. It’s possible a player like Irving could change his mind. I’m sure Kyrie would be willing to look him in the eye and tell him he’s committed to the team. Then again maybe not, he’s not always very interested in talking.
New Orleans Pelicans

Adding a perimeter player next to Anthony Davis makes a lot more sense than another big. The Cavs don’t need a plodding, surly center to add to their fast-paced, already surly system though, not even one as talented as DeMarcus Cousins. Let alone the fact that he’s in the final year of his contract.
I tried to come up with something a little more intriguing by constructing deals that would have sent Irving and Kevin Love to New Orleans in exchange for Anthony Davis, but something inside me kept me from including them here. I think it was the part of me that values defense.
New York Knicks

Let’s forget for a moment that Carmelo Anthony has a no trade clause. This is still a terrible idea. Cleveland would get Carmelo Anthony to compete for minutes with Love at the four, and likely get run off the floor by Golden State in a similar fashion, a rookie point guard unable to contribute immediately, and a decent, but traditional big they don’t need in Hernangomez.
Maybe the Cavs could turn around and deal Love to build a roster that makes more sense, but there are better starting places to that process than the return they would yield here. The only way the Knicks are getting Irving is if they budge on not wanting to include Kristaps Porzingis in a trade, and that seems exceedingly unlikely.
Oklahoma City Thunder

Oh dear God no. Never in a million years. If you’re wondering, a one-for-one swap for Paul George works mathematically. Don’t expect the Thunder to go for that. George fits too snugly in their current roster construction, and they see this year as an extended recruiting pitch, not just a rental.
Orlando Magic

If Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon could shoot, Cleveland would be on this deal in a heartbeat. The Magic would also be a good basketball team. They can’t though, and that makes things a lot less workable. The Cavs spacing would all but disappear if they shared the court together, and completely evaporate if both played alongside Tristan Thompson.
Cleveland would improve defensively, and certainly become more capable of switching pick and rolls. Not to a degree that it would be worth sacrificing their all-world offense though, and unless the Cavs think one or both of Payton and Gordon will become a consistent threat and an All-Star caliber player, this trade is a nonstarter.
Philadelphia 76ers

I know the Sixers just traded for the number one pick to draft Markelle Fultz, but didn’t they do so hoping to get a player that would be roughly as good as Irving? Why not land the sure thing?
Philadelphia has all sorts of exciting young prospects, and an MVP candidate when healthy, which has been a rarity, in Joel Embiid, but they haven’t had a bird in the hand in ages. Landing Kyrie would be taking a large, tangible step forward after years of the process.
Things look rosy from Cleveland’s perspective as well. In Fultz they get a player to build around for the next decade or so, and also acquire a built in insurance policy for next year in Jerryd Bayless. Not to mention a rugged, switchable wing in Anderson. The type of player that might be awfully useful should the Cavs find themselves in the Finals once more.
There is one sticking point here, and it’s the answer to my original question (don’t you love it when a writer sets up a nice, easy strawman to cut down). The Sixers traded to draft Markelle Fultz in hopes of landing a player even better than Irving. That’s a lot to ask of anyone, but such is the level of expectations for a top pick. They also have more than triple the years of team control on Fultz than would on Irving. That’s plenty to keep them from consummating a deal.
Phoenix Suns

If Eric Bledsoe can stay healthy, and Jared Dudley can stave of the ill effects of age, then this trade makes some sense. The Cavs get two useful pieces to make a run at the title in the upcoming season, and a player many consider to be a blue chip prospect in Josh Jackson.
Those are some pretty big ifs though. Bledsoe has played in 221 of a possible 328 games in the past four seasons, and Dudley just turned 32. That’s not to say that they’re incapable of contributing, but the likelihood that they can provide enough combined production to make Cleveland a more realistic challenger to Golden State is low.
If that’s the case, then this trade doesn’t make all that much sense. The Cavs would basically be trading Irving for Jackson as their primary long-term building block. They shouldn’t want to do that yet. Jackson could be very good, but he has a lot more to prove before he’s worth surrendering so much for.
Portland Trail Blazers

How helpful would Lebron find Maurice Harkless and Al Farouq-Aminu to be? The answer is quite helpful. But the Blazers can’t trade Damian Lillard right? Right?
I’d actually hold off on this deal if I were Portland, unless I could find a way to convince Cleveland they needed Evan Turner and his sizeable contract. The Cavs don’t bite if that’s the case, but the Blazers probably don’t if it’s not.
Sacramento Kings

We’re back to a full-on rebuild trade. Cleveland swaps Kyrie for basically all of the Kings’ interesting young players, and take on Garret Temple’s contract as a price for doing business. Giving up Fox hurts for Sacramento, primarily because of the long-term team control they have on him, but there’s no guarantee he even sniffs Irving’s level of play, and the rest of the players involved have considerably lower ceilings.
Given the Kings’ luck- scratch that. Given the Kings’ incompetence, it’s unlikely Irving would have any interest in staying with the team beyond the final two years of his contract. That alone is reason enough for them to avoid this kind of deal. Of course, it’s not entirely clear how aware Sacramento is of how poorly run they are.
San Antonio Spurs

We don’t need to spend a lot of time here. Unless Cleveland is convinced Dejounte Murray is a future superstar then this isn’t going to happen. I’m one of the bigger Murray believers you’ll ever find, and I’d still call this trade a fleecing in the favor of the Spurs.
Toronto Raptors

Nope. The Cavs HAVE to be able to find better elsewhere.
Utah Jazz

This is it friends. The trade I like the most. Cleveland gets a point guard they can drop into the starting lineup immediately, or potentially trade for someone who is a better shooter, in Ricky Rubio, a talented wing to take minutes that would have gone to Kyle Korver and Iman Shumpert in Rodney Hood, and a very good looking prospect in Donovan Mitchell.
Utah lands Irving, and makes everyone’s lives Hell by running endless pick and rolls with him and Rudy Gobert. The Jazz need scoring desperately, and Irving can provide that in a way that no one on their current roster could ever hope to. They’ll still be great on defense even with a net negative like Kyrie in the fold, and he lifts their overall ceiling considerably.
The roster would be thin on the perimeter, but Utah could always make another trade to balance things out. Getting the big stuff right is more important than nailing all the small details (though all parts are important), and in pairing Gobert and Irving, the Jazz would have a fantastic core to build around.
The monkey wrench, once again, is team control. Irving has shared his list of desired destinations, and Utah isn’t one of them. If the Jazz couldn’t get assurance that Kyrie wanted to hang around long-term, then giving up Mitchell for him doesn’t make a lot of sense. They don’t need a 100% commitment from him. Two years of winning could go a long way towards making a convincing argument. Still if Irving says no way, then all of this falls apart.
Washington Wizards

This might be one of those trades where the talent being swapped seems comparable, but somehow both teams get worse. Irving requires the ball in a way Beal doesn’t, and Washington already has a player that should have the ball in his hands in John Wall.
Beal, for his part, can most definitely be effective as a ballhandler, but he isn’t a true point guard. Cleveland could survive by just giving the ball to Lebron full-time, and they more or less do already, but the fit is just a lot less clear with Beal than with Irving.

