The CSL

The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t playing any games. They have one target and one target only in free agency. There is a 100% chance they sign their man as well. The Cavaliers cannot fail.

Kyrie Irving, a restricted free agent coming off of a CSL All-Star campaign, is the face of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise. With the Cavs holding the right to match any offer the superstar may accept, they aren’t looking to do that. They don’t want to offer him a lower cap number than the maximum to try to get him to sign for a discount. All they want to do is show their point guard unconditional loyalty.

We know we hold all the power in this decision. We could allow Kyrie [Irving] to explore his options, but why? Do we want him to fall in love with another franchise and their front office only to tell him he can’t go there? We want him to know that Cleveland is where he is wanted and where he can win a title. We hope he shares that same loyalty with us.

There will be max deals sent to Irving by many different franchises that can’t get him to a CSL Finals as quick as Cleveland can. They also can’t pay him any more than the Cavaliers can now and for the rest of his career. They have an owner who is loyal to his superstars, sometimes to a fault. Cleveland is where Kyrie Irving will call home for the next five years. And if Rizzo is still the GM of Cleveland at the end of that contract, you can bet the front office will do everything in their power to tack on another max contract under his name at the completion of this one.

So why wouldn't you just offer him the 5 year max? That seems to end all of these conversations.

....or ARE you actually trying to low-ball Kyrie by avoiding that fifth year? You seem to be waiting to simply match a 4-year, 4.5% raise deal.... as opposed to offer a 5-year, 7.5% raise deal.....

...just saying.

^ I mean, that is slightly less salary money in the future years. That's one million less in the 4th year of the deal. Not a substantial amount, but that's $1M more than you'd have in free agency that year.

According to the Milestone Management new and rumors, it looks like he already got two big offers from teams and neither of them are the Cavs. If I was them I would have an email drafted to the agent as soon as free agency opened with a max all across the board. There aren't many players in the league like him and the Cavs have the ability to beat any with a 5th year.

emplep7 wrote:According to the Milestone Management new and rumors, it looks like he already got two big offers from teams and neither of them are the Cavs. If I was them I would have an email drafted to the agent as soon as free agency opened with a max all across the board. There aren't many players in the league like him and the Cavs have the ability to beat any with a 5th year.

Totally agree here. Why not just lock him up for 5 years and end the discussion?

Reading comprehension my friends...

Rizzo wrote:Cleveland is where Kyrie Irving will call home for the next five years.

Rizzo wrote:And if Rizzo is still the GM of Cleveland at the end of that contract, you can bet the front office will do everything in their power to tack on another max contract under his name at the completion of this one.

Irving is a max player and will be paid accordingly. Sorry to all the fans of the Lakers, Pelicans and other bottom-feeding franchises in the league looking to steal him away.

Yeah I'm not guessing that right. Just pay and deal w the contract later worse case but if he's your franchise face like you say he is then he assuredly deserves it right?

Really curious if this team continues the rebuild or bolsters the bench and makes a run next year. Could have an MVP candidate with some nice pieces surrounding him.

BizGilwalker wrote:^ I mean, that is slightly less salary money in the future years. That's one million less in the 4th year of the deal. Not a substantial amount, but that's $1M more than you'd have in free agency that year.

I see it completely different.
A 5-year max for Kyrie with max raises means one or even two more guaranteed years from Kyrie as Rizzo can ask for 5 guaranteed years instead of a 4-year with a player option at the 4th those teams will be able to offer Irving.

Agree, max across the board and get it done. With genuine max players, it's real easy.

Yeah what Marcos and Bt said. It's Harder to Pay the max for other PGs available in this years class. I could see Lin/Dragic/Kemba all get max offers. But while Kyrie is 100% worth it I'm not sure about it in Gorans and Lins cases.

Dennis wrote:Yeah what Marcos and Bt said. It's Harder to Pay the max for other PGs available in this years class. I could see Lin/Dragic/Kemba all get max offers. But while Kyrie is 100% worth it I'm not sure about it in Gorans and Lins cases.

Goran is worth it. You don't find 25ppg players who can somehow give you good D (even with his average D ratings) and solid contributions all over the board for less than that.
Lin isn't IMO but someone will max him..
And Kemba is worth his 17.5 Max IMO. Not 21M though.