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Another day, another underwhelming story about the trade market surrounding Kyrie Irving. Despite players his age and with his skillset rarely being available on the trade market there is yet to be a bidding war around the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard.
The perceived tension between he and LeBron James plus the sense that the Cavs have their backs against the wall have limited the quality in offers in the immediate weeks following his request.
The lastest news comes from a trade partner that would make sense for both sides, the Denver Nuggets. According to a report from cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto, the Nuggets are not willing to include both Gary Harris and Jamal Murray in a deal for Irving.
I hear Denver will not give up Murray and Harris in a deal. The point is Denver has some players who could be attractive to the Cavs. It's possible there could be a three-way deal with Denver and Phoenix.
The deal would never be just those two for Irving in a swap anyways, as the Nuggets would also need to shed an additional $8.5 million to make the money work. But without the duo together, it’s hard to find a two-team deal between the Cavs and Nuggets that makes sense. It’s also worth noting that the Nuggets are not among the teams that have reportedly made an offer for Irving.
A three-team deal between the Nuggets and Phoenix Suns could be an interesting possibility. It doesn’t make sense for the Suns to be buyers in an Irving trade, as the gutted team would leave little incentive for him to stay beyond the next two seasons.
If the Nuggets are willing to give up one of their two promising guards and the Suns are able to improve the offer on the condition that one of the teams takes on the contract of Tyson Chandler, a deal may be possible.
For now, it appears that the Cavs are taking a patient approach to moving Irving. The league is likely testing the new front office to see if they will make a panic trade and at the moment, there’s little reason for the Cavs to not take their time and explore all of their options.