According to a new report, the Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis would be the primary piece that the Cavs would target in a Kyrie Irving trade, which I suppose makes sense considering that trade rumors have been attached to both players this offseason (though the former has cooled down since Phil Jackson got canned).
This most recent bit of gossip (it's all just gossip until shit actually happens) comes via ESPN. According to them, Cleveland would have to take on Joakim Noah's bulbous contract in order to have any shot at 22-year-old Porzingis. Though ESPN also noted that Porzingis trade talk is currently a "nonstarter" when it comes to potential transaction discussions.
As Adrian Wojnarowski put it:
Porzingis has emerged as a primary Cleveland target, but that's a conversation that can occur only with Cleveland's willingness to unburden the Knicks of the three years and $55 million left on Joakim Noah's contract. For now, the conversation is a nonstarter for the Knicks, league sources said.
Sounds like they need to look somewhere else for now.
According to the same article, the Cavs are planning their future based around the assumption that LeBron James could leave... again. It says that if the team was convinced LeBron was staying for the foreseeable future, then they'd be more likely to add a veteran to the team's core so the franchise would have a greater chance to win now.
Again, as Adrian Wojnarowski put it:
The Cavaliers have witnessed James’ exit strategy twice — once to leave Cleveland and once to return — and the Irving trade request has left them unwilling to squander the opportunity to replenish young assets on a roster that could be crippled in a post-James Cavaliers era that is stocked with high-priced veterans.
All good things come to an end. Or so I hear.
In related news, just last month it was reported that Irving wanted to join the Knicks "very badly." Sounds like a classic case of be careful what you wish for.
