3 Potential Landing Spots For Kyrie Irving, As Teams 'Wonder Aloud' About His Availability
The Mavericks, as we've been writing since mid-June, have consistently swatted away trade interest this offseason in nine-times-an-All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.Rival teams, however, continue to wonder aloud about how firmly Dallas will stick to that stance once the season begins and the next in-season trade deadline on Feb. 11 gradually approaches.
The primary factor fueling that curiosity, of course, is that fact that Irving is 34 and Mavericks star forward Cooper Flagg is 19. Not your average age gap between the team's two best players.
With that, let's take a look at three potential landing spots for Irving, IF the Mavs finally decide to let go.
Brooklyn Nets
Now, where have we seen this before? Irving had a controversial finish to his last stay in Brooklyn in his previous incarnation there. But perhaps he's mellowed with age, and besides, the Nets could use him. Having an elite scorer and creator could make things a lot easier for Michael Porter Jr. and newly acquired Julius Randle. Additionally, Brooklyn has the room in its salary structure to take on Kyrie's $39.4M salary.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Ja Morant era is over in Memphis. So why not bring in another mercurial point guard to get the next era underway? Irving doesn't quite fit the Grizzlies' new, young timeline any more than he does with the Mavericks in Dallas, but we can't forget that with the new no-tanking rules, teams do have to put up a reasonable fight now to stay out of the basement. Perhaps that's why the Grizz took on Jerami Grant this season. But Irving would be even more insurance that this young team will be able to put up some wins.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have plenty of room under the first apron, so they, too, could afford to bring in Kyrie. Chicago has Josh Giddey in the backcourt, but bringing in another elite playmaker and bucket-getter like Irving would be a big boost as the team tries to win back the fans' trust.