The busy NBA offseason continues. Several star players have either left their teams or are the subject of trade rumors. The latest one? Kyrie Irving. The point guard has reportedly requested that the Cleveland Cavaliers trade him.
Sources told ESPN that Irving told the team that he wants to play on a team where he can be more of the focal point and no longer play alongside LeBron James. James was reportedly "blindsided and disappointed" by the news. It has been a slow offseason for the Cavs, with both Irving and James expressing frustration and being the subject of trade rumors.
Jeff Wechsler, Irving's agent, told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that he and Irving discussed scenarios of Irving and the team in a meeting with the Cavs' leadership last week. "The basis of those discussions and what went on in those discussions are between the Cavs and us," Wechsler said.
The Big Three
Irving was drafted first overall by the Cavs in 2011 after forgoing his final three seasons of eligibility at Duke. He went on to win the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and was the only unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rooke First Team. His second and third seasons in the NBA were highlighted by his first All-Star selection in 2012-2013 and then winning the All-Star MVP in the 2014 game.
Then, things started to change for the Cavs with the forming of their "Big Three." Irving signed a five-year contract extension in 2014, but that was soon followed by James' return to Cleveland after his stint with the Miami Heat and Kevin Love's trade request from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
When Irving was drafted, he expected to be the franchise player for the Cavs. Since James has returned, Irving has been trying to handle being the secondary star rather than leading a team of his own.
"Having just a tremendously great player like that come to your team, and you see yourself being one of those great players eventually, and then he ends up joining it and then now you have to almost take a step back and observe," Irving said to ESPN during this year's NBA Finals.
"Finding that balance is one of the toughest things to do because you have so much belief and confidence in yourself. ... Selfishly, I always wanted to just show everyone in the whole entire world exactly who I was every single time."
Possible destinations
With a player requesting a trade comes the list of teams he wants to join over others.
Irving discussed his possibilities with the Cavs during their meeting last week.
League sources told Wojnarowski that the San Antonio Spurs are Irving's preferred destination. The New York Knicks, Heat and Timberwolves round out the list. A possible move that could happen is Irving to the Knicks for Carmelo Anthony. The Cavs have been trying to get Anthony for some time now, and this might be the way to do it. The Cavs also had their eye on the Knicks' Derrick Rose.
Irving has three years and $60 million left on his contract with the Cavs but he can opt out of the final year before the 2019-20 season. With his request for a trade, Irving is willingly giving up the chance to sign a "supermax" contract with the Cavs in 2019.
The contract is the league's new agreement meant to "deter star players from leaving their teams as they come up on their third contract." According to Bleacher Report, that "supermax" contract could be as high as $200 million.
