Cleveland Cavaliers prepping to offer Kyrie Irving max contract on July 1

Mar 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) celebrates after a three point basket during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 103-94. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Cavaliers are preparing to offer franchise point guard Kyrie Irving a max contract worth $90 million over five years when free agency begins on July 1, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. The team has executives flying to New Jersey, where Irving lives, on Monday to prepare the deal.

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While Irving is still under contract through next season, it’s become standard practice for teams to appease their star players by offering the max deal a year early. We saw a similar situation play out last year with the Washington Wizards and John Wall, who begins his five-year max deal next season after a breakout 2013-14 performance.

So the Cavaliers don’t necessarily need to offer Irving the max right now, but waiting could potentially leave Irving offended, and we’ve seen in the past how star players can hold small-market teams hostage. By getting Irving to sign the big deal right now, the Cavs can feel secure that they’ll have their franchise player around at least for the majority of the decade.

And while some may wonder whether Irving is deserving of a max contract, it’s really a no-brainer at this point. Even if he needs to work on his defense, Irving is already one of the best offensive guards in the NBA, a dynamic scoring threat who can individually change a game when he’s on.

After the Cavs drafted Andrew Wiggins with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, Irving should be surrounded with more talent than ever going forward. One of the biggest knocks against the No. 1 pick from the 2011 draft has been his inability to push Cleveland to greater success, but his excuses will run out as the teammates around him improve.

Irving appeared in 71 games last season, averaging 20.8 points, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game while making his second All-Star team. After an electric performance with the East, Irving was named the MVP of the 2014 All-Star Game.

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