The Cavs missed the playoffs again during a 2013-14 season that was supposed to be their last in the lottery. It’s a good thing they underperformed, though, because — despite just a 2.7 percent change — they lucked into the No. 1 pick for the third time in four years. Now comes word they may not offer a max extension to all-star, Kyrie Irving, despite being one of the best point guards in the game.
There are have been all sorts of rumors Irving is unhappy in Cleveland, and looking to sign elsewhere next summer when he becomes a free agent. But Irving has been pretty adamant about his happiness with Cleveland even as more and more reports surface he’s bad-mouthing the team with his inner-circle.
The popular assumption was that Irving would decline the max extension Cleveland will offer him in July, and test the free agency waters in the summer of 2015. But there’s a new wrinkle to that assumption: what if the Cavs don’t offer a max contract at all? Here’s Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News with the latest rumor on Kyrie:
The Cavs are making noises that they aren’t going to offer Kyrie Irving “max money” this summer via a long-term extension. They don’t want to deal the 2014 All-Star Game MVP, but it could come to that, especially if the West Orange product and his family continue to tell people that he wants out. Irving hasn’t been a leader in his first three seasons and he’s also gained the unwelcomed reputation as a locker-room problem. Those are two reasons the Cavs don’t see him as a max player.
“He was just handed too much, too soon,” said one source. “You’ve got to make these young guys earn it, and that’s where this team did a bad job with him.”
Irving’s 2013-14 season was a bad one by his standards. His player efficiency rating was at a career-low, and he shot it worse than he had in his two previous seasons — averaging career lows in true shooting and effective field goal percentage. But Irving did have a career high in win shares, including defensively — something he assured us last summer he had spent a lot of time working on over the offseason.
If the rumors are true, the Cavs might be looking to deal Irving and rebuild again around whomever they select with the No. 1 pick in June.
Seems silly, though, when you think about all the talent Irving has shown off in his first three seasons, and his relative youth even with all the hardware; Kyrie only turns 23 in March next year. Irving might have averaged — per 36 minutes — career lows in points, assists and rebounds this season, but he’s a back-to-back all-star, who won the 2014 NBA All-Star Game MVP, and possesses one of the most electrifying offensive games in the NBA.
Still, a little before that All-Star game MVP, an unnamed NBA GM said they’d take point Syracuse freshman point guard Tyler Ennis before Irving.
Irving continues to be a polarizing presence with a game that can dazzle and disappear — sometimes within the same quarter. It’s unlikely the debate about his worth to Cleveland and elsewhere will abate any time soon as we come up on decision time for the Cavs and Irving starting in July.
Will the Cavs offer Kyrie a max extension this summer?
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