5 reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers should not trade Kyrie Irving

5. Most likely trade partners have already made offseason moves

When Kyrie Irving gave notice of his trade demands to the Cleveland Cavaliers, free agency was already advanced past the first week of major signings. All of the major free agents had found homes, including the top point guards.

Minnesota, New Orleans, Utah, San Antonio and even Sacramento addressed their needs at point guard through trades and free agency. The Timberwolves have been listed as one of Irving’s preferred destinations, but they just signed Jeff Teague to run the point.

The Pelicans re-signed Jrue Holiday to a large contract and added Rajon Rondo to play alongside him. The Kings drafted De’Aaron Fox and signed George Hill to a three-year deal; the Jazz replaced Hill by trading for Ricky Rubio, and have a young prospect at the point in Dante Exum.

San Antonio is another of Irving’s trade partners of choice, but they are secretly flush at the point. Tony Parker is still under contract despite his age and injury recovery, and Patty Mills was signed to a fresh new deal. The last two seasons the Spurs have drafted point guards in the first round to refill the pipeline.

Looking around the league, the only team with a glaring need at point guard plays its home games at Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks have a young rookie and an undrafted second year player slated to split the minutes at the 1. They have a huge need for Kyrie Irving, but their assets do not line up well for a trade.

Cleveland is taking things slow as it looks around for a trade partner, but the reality is that the number of teams willing to make a deal is much smaller than it would have been a month ago. Teams made their moves in free agency, and now the Cavaliers are stuck playing the hand dealt them.