5 reasons the Phoenix Suns should avoid a Kyrie Irving trade
2. No guarantee he stays long-term
Let’s say a change of scenery is really what Kyrie Irving needs. Let’s say getting out from under LeBron’s shadow was the issue all along, and that with the responsibility of being Phoenix’s new franchise savior, he embraces a more encouraging brand of leadership, a commitment to defense and a willingness to sacrifice shots for his teammates.
Even if Josh Jackson is still in Phoenix in this idyllic and entirely unrealistic scenario, it overlooks another central problem: Kyrie Irving has a $21.3 million player option for the 2019-20 season. Even with the market stabilizing and teams avoiding gaudy contracts this summer, Irving’s value extends far beyond that amount, and he’d be sure to opt out for a new payday in 2019.
At that point, the risk of Kyrie being a two-year rental becomes very real — especially after Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer reported he would not commit long-term to whatever team traded for him.
Kyrie Irving: I want my own team
— Scott Howard (@ScottHoward42) July 31, 2017
[Kyrie Irving is traded to the Suns]
Kyrie Irving, summer of 2019: I want to be on someone else's team
Sure, the Suns are a team on the rise. Sure, they’d be able to offer Irving the chance to be the face of a franchise alongside a bunch of young teammates that might contend for titles down the road. But could they convince him of this team’s bright future in just two years, especially with most of their cornerstones being projects still?
There’d be a lot of losing in the meantime, even in the scenario where Booker and Irving learn to play together on offense and Jackson and Bender learn to cover for their defensive flaws.
Kyrie may want to get out of LeBron’s shadow, but the Suns weren’t on his list of preferred trade destinations and a jump to a Western Conference bottom-feeder probably isn’t his preference. There’s no guarantee Phoenix would even make the playoffs in the loaded West before Irving inevitably hits free agency two years from now.
To that end, even in the best-case scenario where Kyrie Irving leads by example and the Suns get to keep Jackson, is it worth it to sacrifice other young players as part of a burgeoning core for a possible two-year rental?