Breaking News

Kyrie Irving Requests Trade From Cavs, Names Knicks As Potential Destination

A reportedly upset Irving could land in New York. But who knows.

Mike Cortez
Jul 21, 2017 · 3 min read
Photo: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

The New York Knicks are reportedly in contention to land Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving after the player requested a trade from the defending Eastern Conference champions.

The Cavs’ star point guard either sees the writing on the wall with LeBron James jetting Cleveland for LA next summer or simply wants a change of scenery. Regardless of the reasoning, Kyrie being available is sure to have rival GMs rushing to the phones quicker than verified journalists trying to be the first reply under a Donald Trump tweet.

So how does this affect the Knicks? No way Kyrie would want to leave a title contender for a current basement dweller. I’m glad you asked…

You’re calm? Okay good.

First off, it’s great that the Knicks are even on the list. As ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne mentioned, Kyrie is from the area. He played high school ball in New Jersey and his played for the Knicks back in the day.

The Knicks offer the nostalgia in addition to the usual pitch of New York being the media capital of the world and of course a pairing of Kristaps Porzingis. Despite countless chides, the Knicks roster is surprisingly young right now. At 25 years old Kyrie fits the mold .

via The Knicks Wall/SoundCloud

Just take a moment to fantasize how devastating a Kyrie-KP pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop could be. Under Jeff Hornacek’s uptempo offense Kyrie would be able to put the best handles in the league to use. Unlike in Cleveland where LeBron controlled everything, Kyrie could take this as a chance to be his own leader.

Toss in the fact that Phil Jackson is out, the more player-friendly Perry is in, and the Knicks are a much more attractive destination than they were a month ago. The fear of Porzingis being dealt is now nothing more than a painful memory.

But as is everything with the Knicks we must take this with a grain of salt.

The Spurs, Wolves, and Heat were also mentioned and arguably hold more appeal to both Kyrie and the Cavs. The important thing to look at is the Cavs are operating without a GM right now because Dan Gilbert decided three straight Finals appearances wasn’t enough for David Griffin to stick around. While this story was breaking, that Cleveland is close to promoting their assistant GM to the bigger role.

This makes the Cavs ripe for a fleecing. Could Carmelo Anthony and an unprotected first round pick be enough? A Derrick Rose sign-and-trade? These are the conversations likely going on in MSG and around the league as we speak.

For now Kyrie is in Cleveland, but that could change sooner rather than later.

, staff writer

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Mike Cortez

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