Apparently Kyrie Irving told Cavaliers executives a few weeks ago that he would like to be traded from the team. Irving named four teams he would want to be traded to, but the Celtics were not one of them (Spurs, Heat, TWolves, Knicks). Kyrie doesn’t have a no trade clause in his contract like Carmelo Anthony does, so the team could send him anywhere they want. When news broke about Kyrie’s request, Celtics GM Danny Ainge reached out to Cleveland to inquire about a trade. There’s no doubt the Celtics could create a package to match the value of Irving, but would it be smart to do?
Two of the four teams that Irving requested a trade to are Western Confrence teams, and the other two (Heat and Knicks) are teams at the bottom of the East. Of course adding Kyrie would improve the Celtics roster if it doesn’t cost multiple starters to acquire him, but most likely the C’s would have to give up Crowder, Smart, a rotational player, and a pick. The cost to add Kyrie would be too high if he’ll just plan to leave after his current contract expires (in two years).
If the Celtics can resist making a move for Kyrie, he’ll likely end up in the West or on a bad team in the East. Kyrie is no doubt a superstar, but it’s unknown if he can lead a team on his own at this point. He’ll certainly make a team like the Knicks or the Heat much better, but I’m not convinced that he’d make them competitive deep into the playoffs.
The most likely situation that the Celtics add new players or assets due to a Kyrie Irving trade would be if they were part of a three team trade. However, if the Celtics can get him for a bargain they should definitely pull the trigger on a trade. But Kyrie is going to be expensive to trade for, so the Celtics should just sit back and hope he plays next season anywhere but Cleveland.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
