Kevin Love Is Subtweeting Kyrie Irving After Trade Request

For the Cavaliers, a Kyrie Irving trade would have to bring in considerable talent to help them stay within punching distance of the Warriors and hopefully convince LeBron to stay next summer (though his next exit from Cleveland may be a foregone conclusion at this point).

LeBron James is being described as “blindsided and disappointed” according to further reporting by Brian Windhorst. While speaking with Sports Illustrated, Irving said the Cavaliers are in “a peculiar place”.

You’ll have to forgive me, but I’m struggling to get my brain wrapped around the news that ESPN broke on Friday afternoon. As for the Knicks, they could finally find a home for Carmelo where he would be happy, and they’d be able to add a franchise player in Kyrie Irving to play alongside Kristaps Porzingis. Whether Irving simply wants his own team or if his on-court relationship with LeBron is fractured beyond fix is unknown at this time, but Cleveland’s best option would be to see whether they can at least delay this decision for a year.

Drop us a line on Twitter or Facebook and let us know your thoughts on if the Raptors should throw their hat into the mix of the Kyrie Irving sweepstakes. He averaged 25.2 points, 5.8 assists a game last season while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from three-point range. Irving has been with the Cavaliers since being their No. 1 overall pick out of Duke in the 2011 NBA Draft. Marquese Chriss is a promising young big man who played solid minutes for Phoenix last season.

Which begs the question – are the Cavs willing to honor his request? It seems that Kyrie is bothered by the fact that he can’t be the leading star of the team and that no matter what he does, he will always be in the shadow of LeBron James. Cleveland does not have to abide by Irving’s trade destinations, as he does not have a no-trade clause.

In reality, the Cavaliers don’t have to trade Irving, considering he has two years, plus an option season, remaining on his deal.

A trade to the Miami Heat wouldn’t change anything for the Rockets, but a deal sending Irving to the Spurs, Wolves or Knicks will. The 35-year-old is owed $15.5 million next season. So Cleveland would need to include Channing Frye ($7.4 million), at minimum, to make such a trade work. Rose, whose career has been sidetracked by injuries, could sign a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, according to the person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks.

“It’s all speculation at this point to where he might go and what [the Cavs could get back from him]”, Sherman told Covers.

Irving is traveling in Asia right now with Nike.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) reacts during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, in Washington. Gilbert parted ways with general manager David Griffin on June 19.