An ordinary Friday afternoon in late July quickly turned into a full-fledged media circus when Brian Windhorst of ESPN dropped the bombshell that Kyrie Irving had recently asked the Cavs to trade him. That came hot off the heels of the organization announcing that they had finally promoted former assistant GM Koby Altman to the job of general manager.
Needless to say, the news of Irving’s request set off a firestorm of speculation regarding where he might end up, and ESPN later specified that the All-Star point guard had given the front office a list of four teams – the Knicks, the Heat, the Spurs, and the Timberwolves – that would be his preferred destinations.
Now, a new report from Yahoo! Sports claims that the Cavs and Knicks are already engaged in the process of trying to work out a deal.
Source: #Knicks and #Cavs in serious talks centered around Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving+possible 3rd team (maybe #Suns). https://t.co/wb5uB85SUZ
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 21, 2017
The Cavs have long been a rumored landing spot for Melo, although there was a widely-held perception that Kevin Love would be the key figure in such a scenario. It’s further surprising given that all the chatter lately has centered on Melo going to the Rockets to join Chris Paul and James Harden.
Cavs fans have grown increasingly unsettled in recent weeks as both Irving and LeBron James have voiced their displeasure with the organization’s inability to significantly improve the roster this off-season. And with LeBron entering free agency next summer, it appears Irving is ready to cut his losses now and move on, whether he ends up in New York or elsewhere.
