Despite Kyrie Irving naming a shortlist of his preferred landing spots to the front office following his trade request, the 25-year-old could find his way out of a partnership with LeBron James and a Cleveland Cavaliers‘ jersey sometime in the near future.
Having listed the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Minnesota Timberwolves as his go-to spots, the Cavs are not required to honor any of his demands and will likely look for the best package in return for their All-Star point guard.
According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Timberwolves and the Phoenix Suns are “among particularly strong candidates to pull off a trade for Irving.”
Yet Cleveland's mindset has been set as a win-now organization, looking for a young asset to incorporate into the organization along with a couple of veteran players that can help the team take down the Golden State Warriors, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe.
The T-Wolves can dangle former exile Andrew Wiggins, who was drafted with the first overall pick by the Cavs back in 2014 for Kevin Love. The 6-foot-8 wing averaged a career-high 23.6 points to go along with 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, playing all 82 games with the team.
The Suns meanwhile, could offer point guard Eric Bledsoe, who has been lauded as “mini-LeBron” through NBA circles. The bruising floor general is also coming off his best all-around season, netting 21.1 points, 6.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game, despite having his season cut short and sitting out the last 14 games as the franchise looked to explore the young talent at the end of the season.
Both of these teams offer very eye-catching assets, and it would be up to who can assemble the best package to net Irving's services.
Jackson noted that the Heat consider it a “long shot” to land the prized point guard, given their lack of assets to give back to Cleveland, but could be a dark horse candidate if talks with other teams fall through.
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