5 reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers should not trade Kyrie Irving
3. Cleveland cannot receive equal value in a trade for veterans
LeBron James is playing to win championships. Since his return to “The Land” in 2014, the organization has leveraged every future asset to build a team equipped to win throughout James’ prime, and led to a run of three consecutive Finals and the first title in franchise history.
But with James one season away from free agency, the team will be hard-pressed to return equal value in a trade involving Kyrie Irving. The very best players out there are rarely on the market, and those that were – Paul George, Jimmy Butler – have already been sent to their new teams.
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That leaves the Cavaliers looking at lesser talents to try to replace Irving’s production with multiple players. That is a losing battle on two levels. First, a basketball team can have just 15 players on the roster and five on the court — needing two players to make up for one isn’t as easy as addition.
The other reason is that Kyrie Irving is making a lower salary than many of his peers, signing his extension under a depressed cap compared to the current number. Kyrie Irving is under contract for just $18.8 million next season, a number that ranks just 43rd in the league. Flipping him for a player such as Carmelo Anthony (a decidedly worse on-court player) would require Cleveland adding money to the deal just to make the numbers work.
The Cleveland Cavaliers should be all-in on winning a title for as long as LeBron James wears the wine and gold. Kyrie Irving is an elite offensive player who raises the ceiling of this team, and the team will be hard-pressed to find a deal where the salaries and the on-court production line up.