In the third part of my five part series I will be taking a look at a purely fake trade of Kevin Durant for Kyrie Irving straight up.
Take a look at the parameters set out for this group of fake trades from the archives.
I have previously shared my thoughts on fake Irving trades for Russell Westbrook and Dwight Howard. Pieces are still to come discussing fake trades for Kevin Love and Blake Griffin.
Kevin Durant is having a special season, even compared to his previous years. He spend much of his time shooting difficult and deep shots but is posting a 51.2 FG% and crazy good TS% and eFG% for the campaign.
At just a ripe 23, he's certainly someone I expect to see carrying his team deep into May and June for the next five years.
In his finest season yet, Durant is scoring, rebounding and passing all at the best efficiency of his entire career. He also capped off his first half by winning the 2012 All-Star Game MVP and also finished as a runner up to Love in the Three Point Shootout.
With a contract having him locked up for many years to come it is easy to see the case for potentially offering Irving for the Durantula.
Irving actually keeps separating himself from Ricky Rubio in the Rookie of the Year race as Rubio has fallen off a decent amount of late while Irving keeps on rolling. It's clear now that he's going to be nearly impossible to beat in the voting for that trophy.
He certainly has one of the brightest futures of anybody in the league and that was backed up by his performance in the Rising Stars game.
The Verdict: I'm not really going to take much time to discuss this one because there's just no case for the option of passing it up.
I'd take Durant over any player in the league besides LeBron James so this is the biggest slam dunk of the series. His ability to score and take over a game is matched only by James throughout the league. When you combine his character and work ethic with the talent this would prove to be a stunning move for the Cavaliers if they could pull this fake trade off.
Would you make this 100% fake trade?
Please limit your discussion to this trade specifically and not jump into random three for one trades you want to make.
This shouldn't really have to be said but of course I do not at all want Kyrie Irving to be traded. I'm simply attempting to gauge for you how valuable of an asset he truly is.