Should the Cavs have kept Kyrie Irving?

The Cleveland Cavaliers may not have been better in the short-term by keeping Kyrie Irving or the long-term.

When Kyrie Irving made his trade request — in part a result of trade rumors involving his name — there was a chorus of talking heads saying the Cleveland Cavaliers should keep Irving regardless of his request.

Why? The 25-year-old Irving, who has three years left on his contract, is a Hall of Fame talent with a knack for the sensational and a dramatic flair that permeates every part of his game — on offense anyways. He’s like an And-1 street baller crossed with a pure scorer and his play drove the fans wild.

It wasn’t style without substance though as he made a worthy sidekick for James and like the best sidekicks do, saved James on a couple of occasions. In the shadow of Cleveland’s dynamic duo is a backdrop showing the silhouette of a city that is the Gotham to James’ Batman — and what was Irving’s Robin. The only problem was that Irving wasn’t content with the sidekick role and he wanted the challenge of being the complete player he wasn’t expected to be in Cleveland.

Was there enough room in Cleveland for two true megastars? Could Irving emerge from James’ shadow and truly be seen for the perennial MVP-level player that he is?

As it turns out, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue wanted the team to keep Irving while he and the team tried to work through their issues. That’s what the Los Angeles Lakers did with Irving’s mentor, Kobe Bryant.

Quote transcribed by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

"The same day that Altman was named as Griffin’s successor (not long after Billups bowed out of consideration), news broke that Irving wanted out. The Cavs, planning to announce Altman’s hiring with a press release that Friday, sat on the news over the weekend as the basketball world reeled from the shock of Irving’s request."

"His coach, Tyronn Lue, advised they hold onto Irving, just like the Los Angeles Lakers did when Lue’s former teammate Bryant demanded a trade.“We wanted to figure out, is this real?” Altman says. “Is Kyrie someone we might want to bring back and say, ‘Hey, look, players have figured it out in the past. You’re going to figure it out. We’re going to still be really good, we’re going to be winning games, so it’s not going to be all awful.’ You know what I mean? So thinking about the parameters of that, the implications of that was something we were also always debating.”"

A story published by Eric Pincus and the Los Angeles Times in 2015 detailed the Lakers’ handling of the Bryant trade request but the primary difference is the Lakers couldn’t find a deal they liked within Bryant’s shortlist of teams (which virtually just included the Chicago Bulls) not that they refused to acquiesce the trade request.

Consequentially, looking at that incident as a parallel doesn’t work as the Cavs found a deal they liked. However, just as Bryant remained on Lakers team until he retired at the end of the 2015-2016 season, if the Cavs kept a hold of Irving he may have retired in Wine and Gold.

Looking at the silver lining, the Cleveland Cavaliers received a safety net for their future without James by trading Irving and in terms of long-term success, the 2018 first-round draft pick they received from the Brooklyn Nets was one of the best assets they could receive.

They also received Isaiah Thomas, a 28-year-old All-Star point guard to replace Irving, and Jae Crowder, a tough-nosed three-and-D role player to take the toughest defensive challenges other team’s present.

Still, had general manager Koby Altman kept Irving, the Cavs wouldn’t have had to fight through the beginning of this season with Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert and Jose Calderon taking turns starting at point guard rather than an All-Star player capable of knocking down shots from all three levels of the floor at a high rate.

Thomas made his Cavs debut in their 37th game, nearly halfway through the season. Their 24-12 record without Thomas would have undoubtedly been better had Irving stayed on the team although Thomas’ 17 points in 19 minutes was a big time confidence-builder for IT, the organization and the fan base.

As for Crowder, who has yet to live up to his reputation on either end of the floor, his role could have been replaced by Jeff Green. Green, a versatile forward who started 484 games in his career, has shot 48.8 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from three and been more efficient around the rim shooting 69.9 percent within three feet of the rim.

Crowder is shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 32.8 percent from three and 67.1 percent within three feet of the rim.

In the second unit, 22-year-old rookie Cedi Osman would likely have taken Green’s place. Osman is unlikely to have had Green’s impact due to the difference in their level of NBA experience but he would have gained valuable experience and had the crowd in his palm every step of the way.

I mean, it does no good to harp about it but the lone, indisputable benefit for the Cavs trading Irving was their acquisition of a potential top-five pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Sure, they got nearly equal value in return in terms of talent but halfway through the season it seems like that talent hasn’t improved the team from where they would be without a trade.

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Then again, their early season struggles and their lack of familiarity with one another resulted in the Cavs putting more effort into the regular season than they have since James’ first season back in Cleveland. The pressure created by Irving’s departure has also resulted in James embracing the closer role and excelling in it in ways that haven’t been seen since his pre-Miami Heat days. Days when he had to be the closer.

Among players who have played more than one game this season, James averages the most points per game in the clutch (4.8). Last season, James was 22nd on the list with 3.2 points per game. Irving was 15th with 3.5.

Irving’s absence has also boosted Kevin Love’s importance to the team and the prototype stretch big has been the dominant player he was expected to be when he was traded from Minnesota.

Love is shooting a career-high 47.5 percent from the field, a career-high 41.8 percent from three-point range and a career-high 88.1 percent from the free-throw line while averaging 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. This is the first season he’s averaged a 20-point double-double since leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014.

Would these changes have happened with Irving on the team?

Probably not.

With that said, trading Irving was best. Especially if he would have created a toxic locker room environment by being moody and distant in the wake of an unfulfilled trade request.

*Unless otherwise referenced, all stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com