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Has KI saying this even been confirmed? Windhorst is a windbag

I was just on Facebook and someone mentioned Kyrie. I'm shocked and disappointed too. I really enjoy(ed) watching him play...as a Cav.

Kyrie Irving asks for trade: 18 deals that would work
Updated July 21, 2017
Posted July 21, 2017

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kyrie Irving has told the Cleveland Cavaliers he wants to be traded, cleveland.com has confirmed after the news was first reported by ESPN.
Because of the NBA's trade rules, there aren't a limitless number of trades to be made. But if Cleveland elects to follow through on Irving's reported wish, it has some options.
Using ESPN's Trade Machine, we have lined up 18 deals that could work based on salary. Some of these fit talent-wise more than others.
Kyrie Irving makes $18.86M this year, $20.10M the next and $21.33M in the final year of his contract.

For what it's worth, ESPN's Chris Haynes reported that Irving and his agent requested four landing spots:

Ranked least likely to most likely, here are 18 deals that the Cavs could make to deal away Irving. All of the trades have Irving alone leaving the Cavs, for one or a handful of players.
Each player will show a salary progression, beginning with this season.
By Billy Heyen, cleveland.com
Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer

18. BOSTON (Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier)
Jae Crowder: $6.80M/$7.31M/$7.82M
Jaylen Brown: $4.96M/$5.17M(team option)/$6.53M(team option)/$8.57M(qualifying offer)
Marcus Smart: $4.54M/$6.05M(qualifying offer)
Terry Rozier: $1.99M/$3.05M(team option)/$4.29M(qualifying offer)
Boston can offer some of the most enticing packages in basketball. It would just be hard to imagine the Cavs trading the second-best player on the roster to the team's biggest Eastern Conference rival. A starting five of Irving, Isaiah Thomas, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford would be way too intimidating to let the Cavs even consider sending Irving to Boston.

17. HOUSTON (Eric Gordon and Clint Capela)
Eric Gordon: $12.94M/$13.50M/$14.06M
Clint Capela: $2.33M/$3.43M(team option)
With Houston's trade for Chris Paul restricting its assets, dealing Irving to Houston would be difficult. Gordon's contract would basically have to be in the deal to even up costs, and he's a solid sixth man, but not a trade centerpiece. Capela defends the rim and dunks well, but this package just wouldn't be enough to pry Irving away.

16. MINNESOTA (Gorgui Dieng, Nemanja Bjelica, Tyus Jones)
Gorgui Dieng: $14.11M/$15.17M/$16.23M/$17.29M
Nemanja Bjelica: $3.95M
Tyus Jones: $1.47M/$2.44M(team option)/$3.57M(qualifying offer)

Minnesota doesn't really have the right players to put around Dieng's big salary in a deal to make it work. Draft picks would almost certainly have to be involved here. Bjelica is an interesting piece, though, as he starred in Europe and never quite got the time to shine in Minnesota. Offensively he's very gifted, so maybe on the high-scoring Cavs he'd be a good fit.

15. DETROIT (Tobias Harris and Stanley Johnson)
Tobias Harris: $16M/$14.8M
Stanley Johnson: $3.10M/$3.94M(team option)/$5.31M(qualifying offer)
Cleveland would have to be extremely high on Johnson to make this deal. Getting two more wings on a team structured like Cleveland wouldn't work very well, either, and it would almost certainly force James to run the point almost all the time he's on the floor. As he ages, that wouldn't be best for his health.
Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer

14. CHARLOTTE (Kemba Walker, Frank Kaminsky, Briante Weber)
Kemba Walker: $12M/$12M
Frank Kaminsky: $2.85M/$3.63M(team option)/$4.92M(qualifying offer)
Briante Weber: $1.47M
Michael Jordan's Hornets have been led by an ever-improving Kemba Walker for a long time. But Charlotte would have to consider trading away Walker and the young big Kaminsky to get Irving. This deal would actually have some appeal to Cleveland as well, because they'd be able to replace Irving with an almost equal at point guard. But it's hard to see Irving being sent to the east unless the package is perfect.

13. NEW YORK (Carmelo Anthony *for IRVING and CHANNING FRYE)
Carmelo Anthony: $26.24M/$27.93M(player option)
Channing Frye: $7.42M
Anthony has a much more expensive contract than Irving. To make this deal work, either Iman Shumpert or Frye would have to be added to the deal heading to the Big Apple. This looks like a downgrade on paper for Cleveland. But 'Melo has said he'll waive his no-trade clause to come to Cleveland. If that remains the case even with Irving going the other way, it's an option.

12. LOS ANGELES LAKERS (Jordan Clarkson and Brandon Ingram)
Jordan Clarkson: $11.56M/$12.5M/$13.44M
Brandon Ingram: $5.52M/$5.76M(player option)/$7.27M(player option)/$9.48M(qualifying offer)
This deal would hinge on Ingram. If the Cavs believe he can be the centerpiece of the team in a few years, then this could draw them in. But if his thin frame worries them, Clarkson isn't nearly enough to make up for it.

11. OKLAHOMA CITY (Paul George)
Paul George: $19.3M/$20.5M(player option)
This would be ironic, wouldn't it? The Cavs would end up with George after all. Cleveland couldn't afford to receive any other assets from OKC, so this deal would have to be straight up or potentially involve draft picks.
Odds are, though, OKC is happy with it's point guard-wing combo of Russell Westbrook and George in an effort to replicate Westbrook-Durant. Another point guard probably wouldn't help the Thunder.

10. SAN ANTONIO (Danny Green, Kyle Anderson, Bryn Forbes, Dejounte Murray, Davis Bertans)
Danny Green: $10M/$10M
Kyle Anderson: $2.15M/$3.23M(qualifying offer)
Bryn Forbes: $1.31M
Dejounte Murray: $1.31M/$1.54M(player option)/$2.32(player option)/$3.48M(qualifying offer)
Davis Bertans: $1.31M
The Cavs bet a lot on the team's player development if this deal is made. Green can help right now, but the other players are all pieces for the future that would take a lot of good coaching to turn into solid NBA players. Murray is a long-limbed point guard with good upside, and Bertans is like a 6-foot-10, super poor man's Porzingis in that he's athletic and can shoot. There would be worse deals.
John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer

9. PORTLAND (Maurice Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu, Noah Vonleh)
Maurice Harkless: $9.66M/$10.38M/$11.01M
Al-Farouq Aminu: $7.32M/$6.96M
Noah Vonleh: $3.51M/$4.75M(qualifying offer)
The Trail Blazers don't need another scoring guard, and Cleveland fans probably scoff at the names in this deal. But if the goal is to still beat Golden State, this would be one of the best options. Harkless and Aminu are both strong wing defenders, exactly the types needed to beat the Warriors. The Cavs front office probably wouldn't want to pull the trigger on something like this, but if it came down to it, the Golden State matchup wouldn't be hurt by this type of deal.

8. MIAMI (Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow)
Goran Dragic: $17M/$18.11M/$19.22M(player option)
Justise Winslow: $2.71M/$3.45M(team option)/$4.70M(qualifying offer)
This deal fetches the Cavs a point guard replacement and a former top-ten pick. Winslow hasn't proven he can shoot at the NBA level, but he gives another option for defending Kevin Durant if the team still makes it that far. Dragic fits right in to Tyronn Lue's preferred fast-paced style. The lefty guard ran a high-pace system in Phoenix.

7. INDIANA (Al Jefferson, Lance Stephenson, Myles Turner)
Al Jefferson: $9.77M/$10M(team option)
Lance Stephenson: $4.18M/$4.36M(team option)
Myles Turner: $2.48M/$3.29M(player option)/$4.51M(qualifying offer)
Turner has featured as the center of Indiana's rebuild. And Irving probably doesn't make the Pacers competitive enough to deal the young big. Getting rid of two pricey contracts could help that, though.

6. PHILADELPHIA (Jahlil Okafor, Nik Stauskas, Dario Saric, Justin Anderson)
Jahlil Okafor: $4.99M/$6.31M(player option)/$8.28M(qualifying offer)
Nik Stauskas: $3.81M/$5.13M(qualifying offer)
Dario Saric: $2.42M/$2.53M(team option)/$3.48M(team option)/$4.79M(qualifying offer)
Justin Anderson: $1.58M/$2.52M(team option)/$3.63M(qualifying offer)
The best player the Cavs would get here would be Saric. The question the Sixers would ask themselves is: Does this deal rush our rebuild? If the answer is no, they'd love Irving to play alongside Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

5. MILWAUKEE (Khris Middleton, Thon Maker, Malcolm Brogdon)
Khris Middleton: $14.1M/$13M/$13M(player option)
Thon Maker: $2.68M/$2.80M(team option)/$3.57M(team option)/$4.86M(qualifying offer)
Malcolm Brogdon: $1.31M/$1.54M
Milwaukee might actually lose this deal. Middleton fits the 3-and-D role of a modern NBA wing about as well as anyone in the league, at least for a player no one talks about. Maker has a sky-high ceiling, and Brogdon proved as a rookie he can be a solid contributor to a playoff team. If Cleveland had to deal Irving, they couldn't expect a package much better than this. But would they trade him to team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the East?
Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer

4. UTAH (Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood)
Ricky Rubio: $14.1M/$14.8M
Dante Exum: $4.99M/$6.62M(qualifying offer)
Rodney Hood: $2.39M/$3.47M(qualifying offer)
The Cavs will have a choice of guard options to replace Irving with if they make this deal. Exum hasn't panned out since being a top-five pick and Hood battles injuries every year. But this deal would basically give Cleveland three good ball-handlers for one.

3. PHOENIX (Eric Bledsoe, Marquese Chriss, Tyler Ulis)
Eric Bledsoe: $14.5M/$15M
Marquese Chriss: $3.07M/$3.21M(team option)/$4.08M(team option)/$5.50M(qualifying offer)
Tyler Ulis: $1.31M/$1.54M/$1.68M
Bledsoe could be one of the most underrated point guards in the league, but the injury bug bites him every year. Chriss possesses some serious athletic and basketball talent, but he's still just 20 and very raw. Ulis would be a decent flier for the Cavs to take if Bledsoe left when his contract expired.

2. DENVER (Kenneth Faried, Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris, Juancho Hernangomez)
Kenneth Faried: $12.92M/$13.76M
Emmanuel Mudiay: $3.38M/$4.29M(team option)/$5.76M(qualifying offer)
Gary Harris: $2.55M/$3.64M(qualifying offer)
Juan Hernangomez: $2.08M/$2.17M(team option)/$3.32M(team option)/$4.64M(qualifying offer)
This deal gives the Cavs an energy rebounder in Faried, a point guard of the future in Mudiay and two up-and-coming wings who can shoot it and are athletic in the shooting guard Harris and the small forward Hernangomez. Denver would have to ask themselves a similar question to Philadelphia about whether this deal pushes its window to a spot the team shouldn't go to. But Irving would be very tough to pass up. He'd pair with Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap to form a solid big three.

1. NEW ORLEANS (DeMarcus Cousins)
DeMarcus Cousins: $16.78M
There were thoughts earlier this offseason that the Cavs could try and use Kevin Love, with another piece, to acquire Cousins. Using Irving, it could probably happen straight-up. The deal totally changes the dynamics of both teams. Cleveland would have to figure out how to use Love and Cousins together. And the Pelicans would free Anthony Davis up to work down low by himself. The Cleveland dynamic would become unusual, but no single player more talented than Cousins could work in this context.


http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/...art_river_index

There has to be so much more to the story that we don't know about.

I read that LeBron was approached about the George deal that would have sent Irving to the Suns. They asked LeBron if he would give a commitment beyond this year. He said no. So they pulled the trade. But there's speculation that LeBron signed off on the trade. Wonder if Irving got wind of that.

At any rate, LeBron has been so great to the city of Cleveland and such a jerk as well. The guy is about as self centered as they come. That letter is going to look really silly if he leaves again. My opinion is if LeBron would just commit to the team long term, none of this drama would be happening. But he's more interested in setting himself up to take over the world than winning basketball championships.

LeBron is a restless soul who tires of his decisions quickly. It just constantly leaves a wake of collateral damage. And while I believe LeBron to be his own man who ultimately makes his own decisions, I wonder about his inner circle and how much influence they have on his short term commitment syndrome.

Maybe he just can't actually say that Lebron might very well leave at the end of the season?

There's that old saying, "Only a fool goes down with the ship." If Lebron leaves our ship is going down, maybe Kyrie just wants off before that happens? I'm just guessin'.

Other than Cousins and George those deals all look like crap to me.

Let's hope Altman knows what he's doing.

Ever since "Windy" made it big time by following LeBron down to Miami, he has looked down on the city of Cleveland as if he's better than they are. He likes it that he "made" it and doesn't want the city of Cleveland to make it with him. The guy is a class A straight up jerk.

And I've been overweight in my life. I can stand to lose about 20-25 pounds right now, but come on man lose some damn weight.

Again, why not just say that then? The angle that he doesn't want to play with LeBron anymore is really front and center. Only Adrian W. is speculating what you've said. And it's speculation, not source driven.

This is all just strange man.

Yeah, the Cousins deal seems best, assuming we can also sign Rose as our starting PG (even though I can't stand the guy).

D-Rose
JR
Lebron
Kevin
Demarcus

That could work for one season.

D-Rose as our starting PG makes me want to vomit though.

Me too.

I don't understand why we didn't resign Deron Wiliams. I get that he had a bad Finals but give him a full season with the team and I bet he's way better going into the playoffs next year. I believe he's a good fit on this team. He's a way better option than Rose IMO.

Me too. What option do we have right now?

Rose did average 18/4/4 last year (rounding up a bit on the rebounds). Getting Cousins+Rose negates the scoring loss we'd be losing with sending Kyrie away.

I say we trade Kyrie to the Lakers and kill off two of our problems in one blow.

Oh, how I like that!

We don't have to trade him. These guys know each other well enough, they should act like grownups and get over this.

This team is the Titanic, time to blow it up and start over. People who think LBJ is staying are nuts, he is gone and I don't really care. We got our Title time to let him go, he will be on the decline by nest year and will probably do a fake injury half way through the season and save himself for his new team in 2018. Gilbert Casino are losing money . I think he should sell the team and start completely over , It will take a long while but we have no shot at a title with this current roster.

Gilbert may be losing money year-to-year, but he bought the team in 2005 for $375 million. If he sold the team he would get over a billion dollars. Obviously he would get less if LeBron isn't around, but he would still be making a huge profit.

InsideHoops.com NBA ✔ @InsideHoops
Look, sometimes it gets tiring to catch great passes from LeBron James and reach the NBA Finals over and over, and you just need a change.

I have no problem if Kyrie wants out, I just hope that he realizes he's going to be missing out on a pretty good thing.

I don't understand the whole focal point thing. Lebron gave him the ball with under a minute left of a tied game 7 of the NBA finals. Lebron knows Kyrie is cold blooded in end of game situations.

I'll miss the hell out of him, but I wouldn't hold anything against him. No booing, no jersey burning, just pretty disappointed that these guys can't make it work.

Winning in the NBA is really really hard, harder than most sports. When Lebron is gone, we go back with the rest of the pack. We're just another team. I'm trying to enjoy this as a Cavs/Cleveland fan as much as I can.

more is coming out about this, I guess the deal is that the PG13 deal had kyrie going to phoenix where we got bledsoe back, initially they were saying the deal died because lebron didn't sign off on it, but what seems to be the case that lebron wanted that trade but wouldn't commit past next year so the deal died, Kyrie got wind that that was how it went down...case of sour grapes imo

Yeah, I posted that earlier.

I think LeBron is the root cause of all the dysfunction with the team.

He's the root cause of the championship and the root cause of all the dysfunction. The good times come with a price.

yeah, he's always been the best and worst thing about this team...he's a selfish dude, but the best player on the planet. Sorry i missed your post about that. Didn't mean to steal thunder

Didn't read through every post so.maybe it was mentioned. Could LBJ be looking towards Gilbert selling and himself at the head of a partnership looking at taking over?

I don't care if he stays or goes personally because basketball isn't my thing. The idea may be out there but who knows...

I thought this guy's comments were interesting. It was posted at the below link:

'Cleveland Cavaliers must trade Kyrie Irving -- Terry Pluto'

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/index.ssf...art_river_index

____________________

NEO4Life

Everybody blaming Kyrie needs to look at things from his point of view.

#1) Before LeBron decided to "come home", this was essentially Kyrie's team and it was one of the younger teams in the league going through a rebuild process.

#2) During contract years, LeBron can never seem to commit to this team and is ALWAYS sending signals that he could leave. He was taking pictures working out with Philadelphia 76'rs players, scouting Lonzo Ball amid rumors that he may sign with the Lakers, taking pictures on boats in Miami and thanking them. How about you thank Cleveland first? It's just a bunch of short sighted, me-first, attention grabbing behavior that destroys the team dynamic.

#3) When LeBron "returned home", the team was gutted in favor of short term success. Young promising players like Wiggins were outed in favor of older talent. He eventually got a lot of his Rich Paul buddies (Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith) on bad, long-term contracts that will set this team back for for YEARS. They are relegated to signing over the hill players on veteran contracts. Yet, in the midst of it all, he has to audacity not to openly commit to this team and to continue to flirt with other teams.

#4) There are always trade rumors circulating that either involve Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving being traded in order to acquire some other guy that LeBron himself wants to play with. You've got to wonder how K.Love is feeling.

#5) The Warriors broke this team. The CAVS got beat badly and exposed in the finals. This team is not beating the Warriors nor will it win another championship. Kyrie knows this.

#6) Gilbert let David Griffin, an experienced GM, walk

#7) When the CAVS lose, LeBron throws his teammates under the bus, when they win, LeBron gets all of the glory. Yes, LeBron helped the CAVS win a championship (as in being a team member) but let's be honest, it was "The Shot" from Kyrie that did the Warriors in. Who got ALL of the credit? LeBron.

8) LeBron is up for a huge contract, well over $208 million. He will get it as well and further reduce cap space. Kyrie will be up for a new contract in two yrs. Don't you think Kyrie wants a huge contract?

9) The Chris Bosh Effect. Chris Bosh warned us of this. EVERYWHERE LeBron goes, his teammates have to compromise. He changes the entire team dynamic. They have to compromise their gameplay style, their salaries and even to some degree..their personalities. More importantly, you compromise your own star power. Kyrie has gotten tired of it. Living in someone's shadow can and most likely will destroy your career. It's already destroyed Kevin Love's career and future earning potential. K-Love is far more talented than what we are seeing.

I hope they trade Kyrie...and K-Love for that matter...so these two younger players can go on and have good careers. The ride is over and all members of the big 3 know it. Whoever chooses to sign LeBron next year, I hope they know what they getting. He caused the same problems in Miami. Dion didn't want to be here because of LeBron.

As great as LeBron has been, I am ready for the LeBron era in Cleveland and the entire NBA to be over. It's time to move on. Good Luck Kyrie and thank you for everything. I hope Kevin Love can leave as well. Let LeBron stay in Cleveland and own up to all of this chaos.

Wut.

My bad.

Pluto didn't write what was posted.

As for the comments they all have merit except for #5.

The warriors are not invincible.

No thunder stealing. I was more re-emphasising.

The more I turn this over in my head, the more I truly feel LeBron is the root cause.

Thanks Rish. I changed my post.

I feel bad now. I couldn't believe that Pluto would write something so ignorant. Glad to see that he didn't. LOL

Interesting article.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20125888/kyrie-irving-trade-request-shows-learned-lebron

I tried to write it out so you guys would know it wasn't Pluto ("I thought this guy's comments were interesting. It was posted at the below link")

I guess I should have said this was one of the reader comments under the article? Hot damn! I tried to word it correctly the first time. Sorry for the mix-up.

No problem. It was probably my mistake.

What he said is completely and totally spot on.

I thank Lebron for coming home and helping to bring a title to Cleveland, but he is, and has always been a narcissist [censored]. Lebron care for nobody but numero uno.

My response to Irving.... I would tell him to STFU and play ball. You don't want bust your ass for the fine fans in Cleveland then find the 15th seat on the bench and super glue your ungrateful backside to it until your contract is up and you have two years of rust covering yourself. I wonder how much you will lose in endorsement deals along the way.

I think you got this all wrong. I think this falls on the shoulders of LeBron. Saying one thing and doing another. Trying to be the puppet master. LeBron being LeBron. There's even theory now that LeBron leaked the story and the reasoning is compelling.

I don't think I have anything wrong. Irving signed a deal. Irving is now pouting like a child and want's out of the deal. He needs to be a man. If he is not happy then he can play out his contract to the best of his ability, THEN move on as a free agent if he wants.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20127...ng-trade-demand

That seems like a big deal.

Been giving this some thought, and it may not be the most popular, but thinking long term, I think if it can keep kyrie here, you trade lebron. we have a young team for the most part and the reason our bench is so old is because of lebron. He's not the future here, kyrie and love could be, and we could get some decent picks and younger players for lebron that could really speed up the rebuild. He has made it clear he only cares about what happens to the team when it's convenient for him, he has consistently put the FO in tight spots with his childish antics and wishy washy attitude. Love that he brought a ring, but lets not be silly here, Kyrie was the one who made that happen by being ice cold...he may not be a great pg, but there probably isn't another person in the NBA I'd want taking a clutch shot. FO should really take a step back and stop looking at the next year and start positioning for long term, i think Kyrie and Love is a great 1 and 2 punch to get started, trade lebron to get some younger help and some of the picks back and as lebron is going downhill, we are on our way up.

Dunno, I've really soured on lebron this summer and how everything seems to have gone and how of all times he picks now to all of a sudden be hands off. This probably all could have been squashed with a phone call.

I completely agree....for 94+million reasons. 2 parties signed that contract, and unless someone violated something in that contract they should honor it. Most of us have had to work in situations where management or co workers pissed us off, but we showed up and did our jobs.....for a lot less than 18m per year.