NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs’ Kyrie Irving To Knicks, Heat Or Spurs? All-Star Guard Wants Trade Away From LeBron


The NBA trade rumors are officially heating up with regards to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star point guard Kyrie Irving. In some major reports on Friday, it’s been noted that Irving, part of the Cavs’ 2016 NBA Championship-winning “Big Three,” now wants to be traded. The All-Star guard has been in talks with the team about putting a trade together and there are at least four teams he’s interested in, three of which seem like viable options, with the fourth a question mark. Here’s the latest on the Kyrie Irving NBA trade rumors and what it may mean for the upcoming NBA season.

As reported by ESPN‘s Brian Windhorst, league sources told ESPN that Irving has asked the team for a trade. Reportedly, Irving requested that he be traded in a discussion with Cavs’ management including owner Dan Gilbert. Sources even said that part of the reason Kyrie wants the trade is due to the fact that he doesn’t want to play alongside LeBron James. Basically, Irving wants to be more of a “focal point” for the new team he joins. League sources indicated that when “The King” learned of Irving’s request he was said to have felt “blindsided” and “disappointed.”

The days of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James together in Cleveland may soon be coming to end. [Image by Elsa/Getty Images]

Jeff Weschler, Kyrie Irving’s agent, mentioned to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, that they had been speaking with the Cavs’ management about the team’s future direction. However, Weschler would not specify what was said in those “behind closed doors” meetings.

“Kyrie and I had a meeting with Cavs leadership where we discussed many different scenarios in reference to Kyrie and his future with the team,” Wechsler told Wojnarowski.

“The basis of those discussions and what went on in those discussions are between the Cavs and us. We are respectfully going to keep those private.”

With that in mind, several teams were mentioned by league sources as squads that Kyrie would be interested in joining. Those teams are the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Of those teams, only one reached the NBA postseason this past season as the San Antonio Spurs were the second-best team in the West and went as far as the Western Conference Finals.

However, of those teams named, it seems that all of them would become much stronger possible contenders by adding Kyrie Irving. The Minnesota Timberwolves, in particular, have started construction of an impressive upgraded roster, which features now former Bulls’ All-Star Jimmy Butler and former All-Star Jeff Teague, as well as rising stars Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns.

By joining the San Antonio Spurs, Irving would play under the coaching excellence of Gregg Popovich, while playing alongside NBA MVP finalist Kawhi Leonard as well. However, both those teams would be in direct competition with the juggernauts of the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors.

The Miami Heat would also allow Irving to play underneath owner Pat Riley, who has been known to bring in major stars to the roster in the past. He orchestrated a deal several years ago which brought NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal to play alongside Dwyane Wade in Miami, which resulted in the team capturing a championship. Years later, Riley signed LeBron James to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in winning a few titles as well. He failed to win the free agency sweepstakes this postseason as Gordon Hayward opted for the Boston Celtics over Miami and Utah.

Will Carmelo Anthony be involved in a Knicks and Cavs trade for Kyrie Irving? [Image by Elsa/Getty Images]

The New York Knicks are probably the most intriguing of the teams right now. The team has been in turmoil over the past few seasons under former president Phil Jackson. However, Jackson has left the scene and new management is getting started to change the direction of the team. There’s been plenty of trade rumors in New York involving All-Star Carmelo Anthony, with talk that he would want to join the Houston Rockets or Cleveland Cavaliers.

Will “Melo” end up being dealt for Irving? That would create an interesting new team for the Knicks focused on Irving at point guard with big man Kristaps Porzingis, also starring on the hardwood at MSG. It would certainly be the answer to Knicks’ fans’ prayers after continuous seasons of suffering.

NBA fans, which team do you think would perform the best of the four with Kyrie Irving on their roster?

[Featured Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]

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