It would be a mistake to trade Kyrie Irving

No matter who, or what the Cleveland Cavaliers got in a deal, it would be a mistake to trade Kyrie Irving. No other player complements LeBron James better.

On Monday, Vince Grzegorek of the Cleveland Scene caused a stir when he cited a source who said that the Cleveland Cavaliers had a deal in place to trade Kyrie Irving (and possible Channing Frye) for Eric Bledsoe and the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

While Bledsoe (who averaged 21.1 points and 6.3 assists per game last season) is close to LeBron James and they’re both represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, the Suns were widely expected to select Josh Jackson, a draft prospect who teams were seemingly battling for the closer it got to the draft. It’s not impossible that a deal of this nature could be discussed, it’s just unexpected.

Nonetheless, the Cleveland Cavaliers do seem to want to shake up the Big Three. While most would take this as the Cavs trying to keep James in Cleveland, and that’s possible that the possibility James leaves as a free agent next summer is a factor in how aggressive they’ve been in trade talks to this point, the Cavs could also just be trying to maximize what remains of James’ prime, his peak.

James could have at least three years left of dominance when looking at another Hall of Famer with freakish physiques like Karl Malone. Malone averaged 25.5 points per game at 36-years-old and James, at 32-years-old, just averaged 26.4 points per game last season. Yet, in trading Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers would only be doing James a disservice. Malone could dominate in the post and thrive as a face-up shooter, and if James wanted to dominate in that role he could as well.

However, in a league transformed by the transcendence of the Golden State Warriors, a team needs both outstanding guard play and a superb isolation scorer to defeat what’s seems like the best team of the millennium (so far).

That’s where Irving, a created player off of NBA 2K with a Rucker Park highlight reel, shines. His ball-handling, his footwork, the touch on his jumpshots, his killer mindset — he’s the perfect complement to James and a MVP-caliber point guard who is a four-time All-Star at 25-years-old.

When comparing James’ shot chart to Irving’s shot chart, Irving’s ability to be a sniper from the corners and elbows is an exact compliment to James’, who has his issue from those areas. Not even an elite player and perennial All-Star like Chris Paul is as complimentary a shooter, as his efficiency (and volume) from the corners isn’t ideal next to James.

Irving’s aggressiveness as a scorer is also a nice complement to James’ calculated style of play. Irving is an assassin who is like a shooting guard in a point guard’s body. James, as has been noted throughout his career, is like a point guard in a forward’s body. That’s really what made head coach Tyronn Lue’s directive for the duo to attack incessantly so ingenious; Irving’s ability to score at will and James’ once in a lifetime combination of mental and physical dominance make them one of the best 1-2 punches in the league, if not the best.

I had recently wrote an article about the Cavs needing to consider trading Irving for Paul and while I believe the rationale was sound, in retrospect I disagree with the premise Irving is tradeable. Even considering that Paul’s ability to find James for easy baskets could be a game-changer for James, who is ever-so-slowly losing explosiveness in his first step.

Paul, at 32-years-old and seven years Irving’s senior, like James, wouldn’t be able to lead the Cavs franchise after James retired like Irving could. Irving is being groomed as the heir to the throne in Cleveland and when he reaches his prime James’ career will be at its final stretch.

Per ESPN‘s Dave McMenamin:

"“First of all, I don’t know how Kobe and Shaq managed their partnership. All I can know, from the outside looking in, [is] that it didn’t work out,” James told ESPN. “For me, I see Kyrie growing every single day and wanting to be great. And so me, I just try to give him the blueprint, as much as I can. You know, his experiences, he’s going to learn on his own as well, and that’s what he should do, but all I can do is give him the blueprint, and that’s it. Because he’s going to be around a lot longer than me.“He’s 25. He’s got at least 10 more years. I don’t. So I want to give him the blueprint and see what he [can] do with it. You know, no matter if we’re teammates for the rest of his career or for the rest of my career, listen, it won’t be because we didn’t want to play with each other no more. It will never be that.”"

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While many believe James is only willing to stay in Cleveland so long as he wins a championship, and that may be true, in order to win a ring as he gets older he’d likely have to concede the “best player” superlative to a younger player regardless of where he goes. Dwyane Wade did it with him in Miami. Tim Duncan did it with Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio. David Robinson did it with Duncan before that.

Irving could very well be the best player on the team if James’ body slows down and he begins to play more in the post and as a facilitator.

Irving will have to learn how to be a better defender and continue to work on his court vision. However, there doesn’t seem to be a real obstacle to stop him from claiming that title. Irving is capable of playing impactful defense, he just has to do it consistently, and there may no better player to help him see the court than James.

In any case, his scoring ability is what makes him so lethal as a player.

Last season, Irving averaged 25.2 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field, 40.1 percent from three and 90.5 percent from the free-throw line. Only Dirk Nowitzki, Larry Bird, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry have averaged more points per game in a season while shooting 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 90.5 percent from the charity stripe. Irving and Durant were the youngest to accomplish that feat, at 24-years-old.

Trading Irving would be a mistake.