The Sacramento Kings were reportedly ready to offer De’Aaron Fox in a package for Cleveland Cavaliers‘ star Kyrie Irving. Now, we have conflicting reports.
On Sunday, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops and James Ham from NBC Sports California had reports that contradicted each other. The former said Sacramento was putting together a package that included De’Aaron Fox and Kostas Koufos for Irving. Ham later came out and said the Kings have no intentions of moving their rookie.
Kyrie Irving has dominated headlines for the last couple of days. On a quiet Friday afternoon, we got a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that said Irving asked the Cavaliers to trade him because he no longer wants to play alongside LeBron James. Now, the rumor mill is working as hard as it has this offseason.
The 25-year-old lists Minnesota, San Antonio, New York and Miami as his preferred destinations, and his request for a trade could be a result of Cleveland’s imminent implosion. James could leave for Los Angeles next summer, and Kyrie doesn’t want to wallow in the toxicity any longer than he has to.
Also Read: Knicks, Timberwolves Willing To Trade For Irving
Fox has yet to play in an NBA game, but, if a player of Irving’s caliber is on the market, it doesn’t hurt to have a package in place. Contrarily, re-thinking that decision makes just as much sense. Kyrie is a franchise-changing player who just had the best season of his young career. The only knock is durability, and his body isn’t going to get any better as he ages.
Irving can still give five All-Star level seasons, at least, but he’s had to deal with various injuries over the course of his career. Additionally, trading for Kyrie would lead to raised expectations. Rumblings of going to the postseason would occur much sooner than if Sacramento sticks it out with Fox.
It seems like Sacramento has been the laughing stock of the NBA forever, even though it’s only been eight seasons or so. They’ve shed DeMarcus Cousins, and have done a tremendous job of instilling a culture change. Their draft went incredibly well. Moreover, they’ve signed veterans like George Hill, Vince Carter and Zach Randolph to help fix the locker room.
The Kings are looking longer-term by taking Fox over Kyrie, even though Sacramento would be the situation that Irving’s looking for. He wants to be the guy. In a way, he’s acting selfish, and that’s fine. Irving wants to spread his wings and have total control over a team. Unfortunately for him, Sacramento wants De’Aaron Fox in that role.
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