Things are surely moving in the direction of Kyrie Irving being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers here soon. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Minnesota Timberwolves are one of six teams that have already made an official offer to Cleveland for the All-Star guard.
“So far, these are among the teams who’ve made offers to the Cavaliers for Irving: The San Antonio Spurs, LA Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks and Miami Heat,” Friday’s report read.
It must be noted that Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald is reporting that the Heat have in fact not made an official offer to Cleveland for Irving (more on that here).
Minnesota’s interest in the star guard is not too surprising. He was among the teams Irving reportedly told Cleveland he was interested in when he demanded a trade earlier in the summer.
In order for the Wolves to land Irving, they would likely have to part with Andrew Wiggins as a centerpiece in a package for the NBA champion. Whether Wiggins himself is included in said offer remains to be seen.
Even after adding All-Star guard Jeff Teague in free agency, there’s surely room for Irving on a vastly improved Wolves roster. That would likely include him moving to the two with Teague remaining at his natural point guard position and the recently acquired Jimmy Butler playing out on the wing.
Of the other teams that have reportedly made official offers to Cleveland, the Phoenix Suns have the best possible trade chips in Eric Bledsoe and rookie No. 4 overall pick Josh Jackson.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this over the remainder of the summer. But we could be looking at a deal being fast-tracked. Of course, that’s dependent on the specifics of these six offers.