Why the Cleveland Cavaliers should wait to trade Kyrie Irving

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ best chance at giving LeBron James a championship-caliber second-in-command could come by keeping Kyrie Irving on the team through part of the season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers should hold off on trading Kyrie Irving if they want the best return they can get in a trade package.

If the Cavs were to trade Irving before December, when players who signed with teams in July will be eligible for a trade, they’d end up acquiring a package devoid of the volume scorer, ball-handler, shooter and youth that compliments LeBron James. The two best players the Cavs could acquire for Irving, in separate deals, are Eric Bledsoe and Carmelo Anthony.

Bledsoe, while an outstanding point guard, lacks the shooting ability to make him an elite threat from the perimeter. Rookie Josh Jackson, who the Cavs are reportedly targeting in a trade, has the potential to be a talented two-way player. However, the Phoenix Suns are unwilling to include Jackson in a deal for Irving.

Anthony, while an exceptional high-volume scorer, lacks the youth. He’s also unwilling to waive his no-trade clause to go anywhere but Houston. Which, interestingly enough, is one of those teams with a player who can compliment James.

Chris Paul, who could be the best point guard of the millennium (to this point).

Paul has the shooting, ball-handling and scoring ability to compliment James. In place of youth, Paul has the basketball IQ to compliment James — they’re likely the smartest players in the league in terms of their knowledge of the game.

While Paul signed with the Rockets in the offseason, a deal that became complete with a sign-and-trade, it’s reasonable to assume that Paul could have ended up in Cleveland if Irving’s trade requests were made public before Paul decided to sign with Houston. The Los Angeles Clippers would have received a better return in their trade for Paul and Paul would be on a team with one of his best friends, and the best player in the league, in James. As of right now, Paul will form a Big 2 with James Harden.

However, there are questions about how long the marriage will last considering how ball-dominant both players are, how demanding Paul can be and the fact that it’s unlikely a two-headed monster like the Rockets could defeat a four-headed Hydra in the Golden State Warriors. Even with a Big 3 including the best player in the league in James and a player who is nearly unguardable in Irving, the Cavs lost to the Warriors in five games.

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The Rockets, like any rational team, knows it’s foolhardy to try to take on Golden State with a Big 2. Thus, they want Anthony to be the final member of a Big 3.

However, they don’t have the pieces to acquire him from the New York Knicks. With that said, the Rockets have formed a dynamic duo that’s exciting on paper but may not be a practical fit and definitely would be underdogs against the Golden State Warriors.

Sure, the Rockets could very well win with defense, considering the defensive talent they have on the roster. However, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is not known for the importance he places on the defensive side of the ball.

It would seem like, ultimately, the Rockets are a piece away.

Yet, with Paul able to terminate his contract after a year (and all of the other questions surrounding the Warriors’ roster), it would be wiser to trade Paul for Irving. Irving is younger, has more experience playing beside ball-dominant players, is likely a better fit for D’Antoni’s offense because of his scoring ability and under contract for three more years.

The Rockets would still be a piece away but they would have two very explosive scorers — they’d be more likely to defeat the Warriors, who rarely find themselves unable to score, that way — and one of those scorers would be under contract long-term.

In any case, Paul can’t be traded until December. That’s barely enough time to gauge the effectiveness of the Rockets duo but if the marriage seems like a poor fit by the trade deadline, Paul could certainly be acquired by Cleveland. As an aside, with Paul in Cleveland beside James, Anthony could indeed be willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the two in the Land.

That’s essentially the same storyline with DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. They’re two uber-talented players with overlaps in their skillsets. The biggest difference is the Pelicans have a Big 3.

What the Pelicans don’t have is enough shooting in the backcourt or speed in the frontcourt to keep up with the Warriors. By trading for Irving, the Pelicans could start him beside Jrue Holiday instead of incumbent starter Rajon Rondo. That would increase the spacing on the floor and the scoring potential of the team, even without Cousins, who averaged 27.0 points per game and shot 37.5 percent from three-point range last season.

Cousins is a dynamic center who the Cavs could put beside James and Kevin Love in the frontcourt and not only alter the viability of team’s with small lineups having success against them but be the most dynamic frontcourt group in the league. They could provide spacing and do a great deal of damage inside while Derrick Rose, J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, Jeff Green and Tristan Thompson fill out the rest of the Cavs’ playoff rotation.

However, while Cousins is eligible to be traded now the Pelicans want to give him another shot to be the missing link of the team. Cousins is unlikely to be traded before the trade deadline, barring on-court or off-court drama that could damage the team’s locker room chemistry.

In addition, it’s not hard to imagine a player like Marc Gasol or Mike Conley Jr. becoming available around the trade deadline, as the Memphis Grizzlies look like they’re on the verge of a rebuild. Gasol, like Cousins, is a dynamic center. Conley is one of the best all-around point guards in the league, only bested by Paul and Stephen Curry. The Grizzlies also have solid young players to add in a trade package like rookie small forward Dillon Brooks and point guard Kobi Simmons.

Lastly, waiting to trade Irving leaves open the possibility that Irving and James can reconcile their differences for one last championship run.

Yes, Irving wants his own team. However, that desire in and of itself doesn’t and shouldn’t necessitate ill-will. How the story came out and essentially painted James in a negative light or NBA fans seeing Irving partying with rival players and egging on their mockery of James has. Nonetheless, the NBA media has a way of twisting storylines. Forcing James and Irving to address the situation face-to-face could bring the truth to light.

From that point on, anything is possible.

In any case, waiting to trade Irving is the best possible route for the Cavs moving forward. For what it’s worth, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ brass still wants Irving and expects him to be in training camp.

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