Kyrie Irving NBA Trade Rumors: Around 20 Teams Have Inquired About the All-Star Guard's Availability After Trade Request
Kyrie Irving is, without a doubt, one of best the players to hit the trade market in years.
So fans probably weren't surprised when ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that as many as 20 teams have reached out to the Cleveland Cavaliers when they heard about Irving's trade request.
According to Wojnarowski, the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns have already made offers for Irving, but most of the teams that have contacted the Cavaliers probably just want to be kept in the loop while some don't even have the necessary assets to acquire the four-time All-Star. In any case, Irving is the most coveted player in the league at this moment.
The Cavaliers still expect Irving to report to training camp in September, but things are going to get awkward if he has to work with LeBron James. His unwillingness to defer to James is one of the main reasons why he has asked the Cavaliers to trade him, and no one knows how far their relationship has truly deteriorated in the past few weeks.
Wojnarowski has noted that some of Irving's suitors believe the Suns and the Celtics can put together the best packages to entice the Cavaliers to trade the point guard. However, the Suns don't want to include Josh Jackson in any potential trade, and the Celtics are just monitoring the situation as of the moment. A deal between the Cavaliers and Celtics also seem unlikely since they are fierce rivals in the Eastern Conference.
Interestingly, during an appearance on ESPN's "First Take," sportswriter Pablo Torre said James has been in contact with his former teammate and new Suns vice president James Jones.
"LeBron James is hustling behind the scenes, is my understanding, asking 'Is Josh Jackson available for Kyrie Irving?' And the answer back that I heard is 'no, he is not.' But LeBron James is hustling on behalf of the Cleveland Cavaliers, at least for this one year," Torre said, via SB Nation.
The Cavaliers will get a lot of offers in the coming weeks or months, and they will just have to be patient and wait for the best deal to come along.