Kyrie Irving trade rumors: 5 teams that should make an offer to Cavaliers
1. New York Knicks
It’s no secret that the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony need a divorce more than any celebrity pairing in recent memory, and with LeBron James and Melo being such close friends, there’d be incentive on both sides to get a deal done.
The Cavs have been mentioned alongside the Houston Rockets as trade suitors for Anthony all summer, and if Kyrie Irving wants out, the Knicks could opt for a sure thing at the point guard spot over the recently drafted Frank Ntilikina.
Remember, Ntilikina has combo guard potential, so even a trade for Kyrie wouldn’t be a death sentence to his playing time or his future in the Big Apple. One trade might look like Melo for Kyrie, with Richard Jefferson included to match salaries.
In this deal, the Knicks get another franchise cornerstone alongside Kristaps Porzingis (and perhaps Ntilikina), shedding Melo’s contract in the process.
The Cavs, meanwhile, get rid of their disgruntled point guard while bringing in an established scorer and long-time friend of LeBron James. Though Melo doesn’t bump Cleveland up to Golden State’s level, perhaps playing with his friend might help convince the King to stay next summer.
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Melo would have to play the 3 in Cleveland with Kevin Love still onboard, moving him from his more effective spot at power forward and exposing his defense to quicker small forwards on the wing. Remember, Melo was never the most gifted defender, and that was before he turned 33 years old in May.
However, he’s a decent enough three-point shooter to be a threat, especially with all the open looks LeBron and Cleveland’s floor-spacing would provide. His iso-scoring could replace some of what Kyrie brought to the table, he’d help on the boards, and the Cavs could just let LeBron continue to play point forward in the wake of Kyrie’s departure.
However, if the Cavs were smart, they’d try to talk the Knicks into replacing Ntilikina with Kyrie and ask for him to be included in the deal to prepare for life without LeBron. Here, Channing Frye would be included for salary-matching purposes.
However, as nice a novelty as Frye’s New York homecoming would be, the Knicks would be wise to turn down an offer including Ntilikina, even though they’ve already lost all leverage in Carmelo Anthony trade talks with the entire league knowing both sides want out.
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As you can see, putting together a Kyrie Irving trade that works for both sides is difficult, especially factoring in what LeBron James might do next summer in free agency.