Out of the four teams that Kyrie Irving laid out for his potential trade destinations, the New York Knicks are apparently his preferred destination. Originally, Irving said that the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, and Knicks were his first choices. Irving went to high school in New Jersey, so he is reportedly saying he really wants to go to the Knicks -- according to Pablo Torre on "ESPN First Take."
The Timberwolves were recently in the news because they are seriously considering trading Andrew Wiggins in order to get Irving to form a "big three" of Irving, Jimmy Butler, and Karl Anthony-Towns.
However, if Irving were to go to the Knicks, could the Cavaliers be a team that helps facilitate a trade to get Carmelo Anthony to the Houston Rockets?
How the Cavaliers could help
The Rockets are looking for a team to take on the contract of Ryan Anderson. They would have to swing a trade that sends Anderson to the Trail Blazers, Maurice Harkless, and Meyers Leonard, and draft picks to the Cavaliers, and Irving to the Rockets. Then, the Rockets could ship Irving to New York for Anthony in a straight one for one trade. This trade would happen only if the Cavaliers acknowledge that LeBron James is moving on after this season.
Harkless and Leonard would be young assets to the team that would combine for the same salary as Irving.
They would likely be backups to Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson moving forward. Some sort of draft pick compensation would have to be included to make up for the talent that they would be missing with no Wiggins.
There would have to be some convincing to pull of this deal, but it is not an impossible deal. The Knicks would get the point guard they have always wanted to pair with Kristaps Porzingis, and the Rockets would get their third superstar.
The Cavaliers would lose in this situation no matter what they do because they are losing an All-Star point guard.
How likely is this?
Who knows? The NBA is full of surprises, but this deal would net the Knicks more value than Anthony is worth. The Cavaliers would lose out more in not getting Wiggins, but they would get two solid bench players to pair with James and Love this season.
The Cavaliers likely want a guard that can handle the ball since Deron Williams and JR Smith are their next best ball handlers. The Cavaliers would not be as good as they were last season, but they would have a solid lineup to compete in the watered-down Eastern Conference.
