5 reasons the Cavaliers should take the Suns’ latest offer for Kyrie Irving
1. Kyrie is gone, and LeBron might be too
When the dust settles in a year or two, the Cavs won’t look the same. LeBron seems more and more likely to look elsewhere next summer as each month passes, and then Irving and Love will be free agents the following summer. There is currently no young talent capable of replacing those guys on the next good Cavs team. This deal, forced upon them by Irving, is their best chance to set themselves up for success post-James.
Unfortunately, because Irving decided to hold a meeting with management after free agency was mostly finished up, few suitors were left. Most teams have already spent their money, seen their prospects play in Summer League and begun planning for next season. Players are working out across the country, and executives are on vacation. Seemingly no one is chirping outside of Phoenix.
The fact that McDonough and the Suns are even interested means the Cavs have an advantage over the rest of the league. Phoenix has held its chips for years, refusing (and sometimes just failing) to add veteran talent in favor of this rebuild. That they are interested in exchanging some of that core for Irving means the Cavaliers have their choice of some incredibly talented youngsters. Few teams in the league have the kind of player that could fetch that return, especially with how many moves have already warped the NBA landscape this summer.
If Cleveland wants to compete for one last championship while James is under contract while still maintaining flexibility into the future, these Suns offers seem like the best opportunity to do that. Bledsoe is the best Kyrie replacement on the market, and would help them bring a different approach to Warriors-Cavs Part IV should we get there. Meanwhile, a prospect like Bender would help bridge the gap toward the next era of Cleveland basketball, as would another batch of prospects traded for Kevin Love next summer if James were to leave.
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A trade for Irving was never going to get a Melo-to-New-York type return, mostly because the league has learned its lessons from the Melo and Dwight fiascos. This is their best chance to get modern day even.