AllforOne
... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
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Re: Look at Jackasses Who Said, "Trade Kyrie Irving"
I don't think it would be the time to worry about what other players may do in the future. I agree that part of the Cavs' job here is to make it as enticing as possible for Kyrie to stay, and part of that job is to finish this year strong, coming close to (if not slipping into) the playoffs. And the system does provide the Cavs with several advantages for keeping him. If he doesn't sign an extension with the Cavs, and ends up signing the qualifying offer for the 2015-16 season (and let's not forget, that would be the first time in NBA history that a player coming off a rookie contract declined a max offer), that would cost him several million dollars, and create the risk of him not having long-term security in case he suffers a serious injury.
My point is: if he really, truly does not want to be here long-term -- if he really is focused on his "brand," and wants to play in a larger market, and isn't 100% committed to building his career here -- then they should look to trade him. We can't turn Cleveland into New York or L.A. If his mindset is that he wants to play in one of those mega-markets, no amount of franchise building is going to change his mind. Best to trade him and get a huge return.
My hope is that it never comes to this. I'd like to see Kyrie here for his career, and see him win a lot of games while wearing wine and gold. But if he doesn't want to wear the wine and gold (and again, this whole discussion is predicated on a big IF), then there's not much we can do except send him on his way.
To me this is a slippery slope, if we let a player dictate that he does not want to be here, then what is keeping future stars from doing the same thing to us. We hold a slight upper hand as we can offer the most money, and the 5 years and think we should call his bluff if he threatens not to sign the ext. I think this is also why it was so important to make a push for the playoffs this year. If we can finsih the year strong, I think it sends a message to KI that this is a good place to be at.
I don't think it would be the time to worry about what other players may do in the future. I agree that part of the Cavs' job here is to make it as enticing as possible for Kyrie to stay, and part of that job is to finish this year strong, coming close to (if not slipping into) the playoffs. And the system does provide the Cavs with several advantages for keeping him. If he doesn't sign an extension with the Cavs, and ends up signing the qualifying offer for the 2015-16 season (and let's not forget, that would be the first time in NBA history that a player coming off a rookie contract declined a max offer), that would cost him several million dollars, and create the risk of him not having long-term security in case he suffers a serious injury.
My point is: if he really, truly does not want to be here long-term -- if he really is focused on his "brand," and wants to play in a larger market, and isn't 100% committed to building his career here -- then they should look to trade him. We can't turn Cleveland into New York or L.A. If his mindset is that he wants to play in one of those mega-markets, no amount of franchise building is going to change his mind. Best to trade him and get a huge return.
My hope is that it never comes to this. I'd like to see Kyrie here for his career, and see him win a lot of games while wearing wine and gold. But if he doesn't want to wear the wine and gold (and again, this whole discussion is predicated on a big IF), then there's not much we can do except send him on his way.