5 reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers should not trade Kyrie Irving

4. Recently signed players cannot be traded until Dec. 15

Unless a player is signed through the mechanism of a sign-and-trade, free agents cannot be moved to another team until Dec. 15. This not only limits the available players the Cavaliers could receive in a deal, it restricts potential partners from moving salary to open up space as well.

The San Antonio Spurs are an intriguing option, as they could offer a collection of lower-price two-way assets that would help the Cavaliers compete now.

But with Tony Parker still on the books, it would be a grossly uneven cap situation to commit double figures to Parker, Irving and Patty Mills. With being Mills a recent signee in free agency, the Spurs could not move him as part of the deal until December.

A similar issue arises with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Under the direction of Tom Thibodeau and playing alongside Jimmy Butler, Irving’s defensive deficiencies would be mitigated. But with Jeff Teague newly signed to a contract, the Timberwolves wouldn’t be able to flip him to the Cavaliers as part of a deal for Irving.

Teams such as the Los Angeles Clippers (Milos Teodosic) or the Sacramento Kings (George Hill) have recently signed point guards that would presumably need to be moved for those teams to wade into the trade discussions, but again, that cannot take place for another five months.

If Cleveland wishes to get the best return in a trade, it would behoove them to wait until December. But at that point with the season already underway, the shockwaves of a major trade may be too much for the team to bear.