Cleveland Cavaliers fans can still remember how painful it was to see LeBron James announcing that he would take his talents off of the Cleveland and to the South Beach, joining forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Unfortunately for them, they might experience a similar feeling once again, in about two years from now. Superstar point guard Kyrie Irving doesn’t seem like he is eager to stay in Cleveland after the end of the 2015 – 2016 season.
At that time, Irving will be a restricted free agent and of course, a lot of things might have changed in the team and Irving’s plans for his future. Nonetheless, if he does part ways with the Cavs, these are the teams he could end up joining.
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz were the worst team in the Western Conference this season. After several seasons of mediocrity in the last decade, in many of which the Jazz made it to the playoffs, the 2013 – 2014 season was one of changes for the Jazz. However, together will the departures of big stars like Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap came the hope for a better future. The Jazz do have some capable young players, like Enes Kanter and Trey Burke and they will have much salary cap available to chase a superstar like Irving over the course of the next few seasons. With Irving becoming more and more dissatisfied with the situation in Cleveland, look for Utah to actively enter the list of Irving’s suitors.
Los Angeles Lakers
Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers don’t have many options available. The team has been tanking over the span of the last couple of season, it has a big portion of its salary dedicated to Kobe Bryant for the next two seasons and they will most probably have to wait until they make a big move, a star acquisition. If the Lakers fail to add a superstar during the next couple of seasons, look for them to do it during the summer of 2016. The addition of a player like Kyrie Irving would only make sense for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant might not be along by then and the Lakers will need to find the next face of the franchise. Kyrie Irving, who is currently just 21 years old, could certainly play that role.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Now, I just can’t think of potential destinations for Kyrie Irving in the summer of 2016 and not include his current the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yes, Kyrie Irving does not like the current situation in Cleveland and it’s true that the Cavaliers are a franchise that has failed to show the professionalism and the capability of retaining its superstars. However, they will be the team which can offer Irving the best contract and during the next couple of seasons, the franchise might make serious efforts to change its course. After all, the lesson the Cavaliers learned from LeBron’s decision is that they should do whatever they can to make their superstars feel happy in Cleveland, so they could do just that in Irving’s case.
Ron Leyba is the content manager of Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues – premier source of fantasy basketball updates, rankings and rumors. For more of his fantasy basketball updates, follow Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues Google+ account.