What if a Kyrie Irving Trade Makes the Cavaliers Better?

The Boston Celtics can see their window opening more and more with the Kyrie Irving news, but that can’t let them get over confident

Kyrie Irving is going to be the hot topic of the NBA offseason until this recent madness settles. People keep going on about the dysfunction of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the set up for LeBron James‘ departure as a free agent in 2018.

Irving requesting a trade is a strong indication that the glory days of the Cavaliers may be behind them, and there is no doubting that the Eastern Conference appears to be the most wide open since James started his string of unprecedented dominance.

While Irving trade request is no doubt a bad sign for the Cavaliers, he will not be leaving for nothing. Superstars have been traded for dirt cheap this offseason, but Irving has multiple years on a phenomenal contract, and is just 25 years old.

If the Cavaliers trade Irving, they will be getting an incredible package back for him, and that could be cause for concern.

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The Cavaliers would be getting multiple pieces back in a Irving trade. They would certainly want an established player to help make sure James knows that they will put everything into winning right now.

On top of that, the Cavaliers would also likely get a decent young prospect back, in which case the Cavaliers could try to solidify their future a bit and try to use that piece to entice James to stay in free agency with the future in mind.

Depending on what these players are, the Cavaliers could turn this Irving news into a positive, finding players who will have great talent, and may compliment what the Cavaliers are trying to do more than Irving.

The turmoil about the Cavaliers is really a lot more about what will happen to the franchise in 2018 free agency. This season, however, even if Irving is traded, do not expect much of a drop off, with the chance to be better.

James has proven that he simply does not lose in the Eastern Conference, and he has proven that he can make it work with a lot of different players around him. If the Cavaliers can get multiple pieces to add to this roster, that could easily allow them to return to how good they were last year.

Replacing Irving’s impact is no easy task. The Cavaliers will not be getting individual talent as good as Irving, but part of the problem is that Irving feels as though he is being held back by the Cavaliers. If they can find a very good player who can unleash all of his ability with the Cavaliers, then the path to the Finals in the East could end up being even more difficult than it was a year ago.

There are all kinds of possibilities surrounding this situation right now, but the worst thing anyone can do is take this turmoil for granted, and use that as a reason to think it will be easier to beat James.

James has been too good and there is too much talent on the Cavaliers to assume their immediate downfall. For as bad as things look in 2018 free agency, the desperation of impending doom could bring out another gear for this team.

The Cavaliers have a lot to worry about right now, but the moment this team is underestimated you are losing. The Cavaliers might be a mess, but they the scariest mess you will ever have to play in the playoffs, and thinking anything about this situation will make it easier is the quickest way to make sure James once again gets back to the Finals.

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Everything about the Boston Celtics has been trending up this offseason, while everything about the Cavaliers is trending down. Things are pointing to the Celtics being in a great position to finally dethrone the king, but if that happens it will not be because the Cavaliers got worse. It will only be because the Celtics got that much better.

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