The Kyrie Irving trade rumors have been a familiar constant in the dog days of the NBA offseason, and it appears they won’t go away until the All-Star point guard is dealt at some point in the coming months. We’ve covered all the angles of a potential Irving pursuit from a C’s standpoint since the launch of BSJ. We began by discussing hypothetical trade packages and wondered about the purpose of ex-Cavs GM David Griffin connecting the Celtics to Irving's "list" last week on ESPN’s the Jump as well. Now we have a new wrinkle to examine thanks to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com: The Cavs are intrigued by C’s rookie Jayson Tatum. Here’s the full passage from Woj’s column:
The Cavaliers find themselves far more fixated on a young star, including New York's Kristaps Porzingis, Boston's Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson and Denver's Jamal Murray, league sources told ESPN.
Boston has expressed interest in Irving and could offer the best combination of short-term (Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder) and long-term (Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, picks) assets. The Celtics have made no formal offer, and it is against Boston's front-office DNA to push out front with the most generous offer. Boston knows that Cleveland is most intrigued with Tatum, but the sides have not formally discussed that deal, league sources said.
This Irving trade process has been deliberate, and teams believe the Cavaliers expect more aggressive conversations in September, closer to the start of training camps.