Kyrie Irving: Out til after the Holidays?

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Former Duke point guard Kyrie Irving might not be available at the start of the season for the Cleveland Cavs. In fact he may not be back before Christmas or even later. This revelation comes from a report by Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. This means that we will not see the Cleveland that was brought back together fully until then.

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The extent of Irving’s recovery also helps explain why the team pursued former Hornets guard Mo Williams in the off season. They were not just looking for someone to support Irving from off the bench, they were looking for someone to take Irving’s spot in the early part of the year. The other option would have been months of Matt Dellavedova.

With the commitment of LeBron James, a careful measured recovery for Irving makes sense. This team is built for a multi-year window, not just next year. There could even be a bright side to this. LeBron James will spend much of that time with Kevin Love as his obvious wing man. That could help heal any perceived distance that seemed to exist during last season.

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Irving is not the only consideration that the Cavs need to address. They also have the unsigned Tristan Thompson contract still lurking out there and James’ insistence that it is priority one right now.

It is important to remember that Cleveland is James’ team and he pulls many of the strings. Therefore the loss of a point guard such as Irving is not the biggest problem in the world. They will miss his shooting, but the ball always went through James and will continue to do so. Even with Kyrie Irving’s injury, Cleveland has to a favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference.