The Phoenix Suns may land Cleveland All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving if they are willing to trade No. 4 overall pick Josh Jackson to the Cavaliers together with Eric Bledsoe. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Jackson is considered the swing piece and if the Suns are willing to part ways with him, then a simple two-team deal will work. Windhorst said the Suns could throw in Jared Dudley in the discussion while the Cavs may ship Iman Shumpert to the Suns.
Earlier, it was reported that the Cavs, Suns, and the New York Knicks were discussing a three-team deal involving Irving, Carmelo Anthony, Bledsoe, and Kevin Love.
Based on preliminary discussions, the Knicks would get Irving and Phoenix center Tyson Chandler, the Cavs would get Anthony and Eric Bledsoe, while the Suns would acquire Love and rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina. The Suns and Cavs would also get future first-round picks. The Knicks could be out of this trade equation as Anthony could be traded to the Houston Rockets this week, according to Tarek Fattal of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Irving rocked the NBA world when he asked the Cavaliers for a trade to one of his four preferred teams -- the San Antonio Spurs, Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves or the Miami Heat. In his meeting with team owner Dan Gilbert, Irving said he wants to become the focal point of a team’s offense and he’s tired of playing in the shadow of LeBron James.
Bledsoe said he wants to join a winning team
Bledsoe, for his part, said he wasn’t bothered by rumors connecting him to a trade for Irving. While he’s happy playing for the Suns, Bledsoe said he wants to win. Despite his outstanding performance last season, the Suns shut Bledsoe down for the last 16 games of the season. In 66 games last season, Bledsoe averaged 21.1 points, 6.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds.
Bledsoe will have no problem playing with James as they have the same agent. He is also close with James, who attended his wedding earlier this month.
Chauncey Billups not surprised by Irving’s demand
Meanwhile, retired NBA player Chauncey Billups, who was interviewed by the Cavs for their vacant general manager post, said he wasn’t caught off guard by Irving's trade request.
During his interview stage with the Cavs, Billups said he became aware of Irving’s situation while doing his due diligence on the team. Billups was a strong candidate for GM but he withdrew his name from consideration. According to reports, the Cavs offered him a $1.5 million annual salary, very low compared to the average pay of all the general managers in the league.
