Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Kyrie Irving broke the internet recently with reports on his requested trade. As it turns out, Irving wants to be the focal point of a franchise, and does not want to play second fiddle to LeBron James anymore. Due to this, a lot of teams became hopeful that they can bring Irving. One of them is the recently-strengthened Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves have had an amazing offseason, but it could be exponentially better if Irving comes aboard. As Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports, Wolves stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler already started recruiting Irving. Butler became good friends with Irving during their time as Team USA teammates. Both stars already contacted the Wolves' front office, expressing their desire to get Irving.
However, there are certain issues with this scenario. Unless both squads are willing to wait three months, any recently-signed or acquired player via trade cannot be dealt. Due to this, only Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Tyus Jones, Cole Aldrich, and Gorgui Dieng can be traded. Towns and Wiggins are obviously off the table, which leaves the Cavaliers little to pick from.
Of course, Minnesota can sweeten the deal with some first round selections. However, with a stacked roster, any first rounder would really hold small value. In the end, this is Kyrie Irving, a multiple time All-Star guard that is being discussed. The Cavs will not let him leave without getting a very good package to build around.
All in all, any recruitment effort from Towns and Butler can only have little impact since Irving isn't a free agent.
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