Kyrie Irving, Dennis Schroder and John Wall Could Be Working Out Together This Summer

Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers could be working out with Dennis Schroder and John Wall this summer.

Iron sharpens iron. If that’s the case, Kyrie Irving should come back sharper than ever next season after planning workouts with Dennis Schroder and, possibly, John Wall.

According to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Schroder approached Irving about working out together in the summer. Schroder already has worked out with Wall before but he has yet to work out with Irving.

Regarding his reasons for competing against Wall and Irving, two of the most talented and well-known point guards in the game, Schroder had this to say.

"“To compete against almost the best point guard in the league, you get better every game,” Schroder said of Wall following a practice Sunday. “I told him already I want to work out in the summer. I told that to Kyrie (Irving). Kyrie told me that too. You keep getting better playing against these guys.”"

Schroder, who is lightning-quick though not as fast as Wall, could learn a lot from Optimus Dime when it comes to setting up his teammates and being a floor general. Schroder currently averaged 4.4 assists per game for his career although he averaged a career-high 6.3 assists per game this season, his first season starting in every game he played in. Wall averages 9.2 assists per game for his career and averaged a career-high 10.7 assists per game this season.

He could learn a lot from Irving about improvising to create his own shot as Irving is one of the best, if not the best ball-handler in the game.

He could also learn a lot from Irving when it comes to scoring, period. Like Wall, Schroder is also a player who fails to excel from behind the three-point line. While I won’t go as far as to say that Irving will be able to make Schroder a better three-point threat, Irving could teach Schroder how to master his in-between game. Irving is a lot like Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan in a point guard’s body. “The Mystic Mamba” as I like to call him, loves to get off quick baskets from the midrange.

Lastly, Irving is also one of the best finishers in the NBA and with Schroder’s speed and an increased ability to perform crossovers to create space for him to get a shot off, Schroder could find himself around-the-rim for a score quite often.

How does this benefit Irving? By going up against players with Schroder and Wall’s speed, he’ll be able to work on the big weakness in his game. While Irving usually takes the defensive challenge seriously and displays an intense focus on that end, he has trouble staying in front of point guards and consistently preventing perimeter penetration. Especially if those point guards are quick-twitch athletes.

It’s telling that against the Indiana Pacers Irving seemed to have more success guarding Paul George than Jeff Teague.

As far as defending point guards after they call for screens, Irving has already done a better job in the tail end of the season in regards to running point guards off of those screens. However, in pure isolation situations, Irving gets beat off-the-dribble by opposing point guards consistently even without a screen being called.

It’s unlikely that Wall or Schroder will say “this is how you stop me from beating you off-the-dribble” and Irving will be taught a defensive secret by point guards who hope to defeat him and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs.

However, from watching them closely day-in and day-out, Irving could notice little things here and there that he could do to slow down the speedier point guards in today’s game.

Maybe he should play off of them more, letting them shoot long jumpers rather than getting to the rim. With his lack of lateral speed, he wouldn’t want to crowd their air space, especially too far from the three-point line, because if he was beat off-the-dribble that high up it could lead to easy points for the opposition’s offense.

It’s also possible than Wall and Schroder put Irving through workouts that improve his lateral agility. A quicker Irving would be very dangerous, as both a scorer and a defender.

Whatever the workouts entail, Cleveland Cavaliers fans should expect Irving to come back as a sharper player. For better or for worse, they should expect Schroder and Wall to be sharper players too.

What do you think of Kyrie Irving working out with Dennis Schroder and John Wall? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.

*All statistics referenced from www.basketball-reference.com