NBA Trade Rumors: Kyrie Irving To Lakers Gains Ground As Cavaliers Will Not Offer Max Extension! Is ‘Uncle Drew’ Deserving Of Huge Contract? Cleveland Has New Star With 1st Overall Pick!

The NBA Trade Rumors hit a crescendo as near the draft! The big draft lottery winner, Cleveland Cavaliers, now has a whole lot more options at their table. No disgruntled superstar, not even Kyrie Irving can put them on edge.

The nagging question that has hounded Kyrie Irving since last season was whether he is willing to sign the maximum contract extension IF Cleveland offers it. Most observers believe that the Cavs will give that since Irving is their only superstar on the court and outside.

This is often the situation faced by most NBA teams. The Washington Wizards signed John Wall, the 2010 first overall pick to a max contract extension despite a popular sentiment that he's not really worthy. However, if they don't give him the max, some other team will. It's a great thing for the Wizards that Wall made himself worthy.

Now the same question is being asked of Kyrie Irving.

From Basketball Insiders:

"Because a max extension is being debated, is Irving truly a max player? Some would say he is not, some would say he is almost a max player and that's clearly something the Cavaliers have to decide.

The other part is that do you really give a max deal to someone who may or may not be committed to your team? There have been enough stories of Irving not being happy to make that a talking point in a new deal. If Irving is totally buying in, then back up the Brinks truck, but if he has his eyes elsewhere and this deal is simply a placeholder until he can get where he may ultimately want to be, the Cavs need to know that.

Sources close to the process say it is more likely than not that a deal gets reached, but there will be conversations and a process that plays out which would need to involve Irving being all-in for the Cavs game plan. If he is not, then playing out the season and seeing where things land could very well be outcome.

If the talks go badly, being traded could be one of those outcomes too.

The Cavaliers are in the driver's seat here. They do not have to do anything this year unless it makes sense for them in the long-run, and given how the team itself has underperformed, taking their time on who stays long-term might not be a bad idea, even if the final answer is a long-term deal for Irving."

The Cavs are in the drivers' seat. They can let him sit until he becomes a restricted free agent-and match the contract if they want to keep him. But they can save themselves the stress by trading Irving outright for future assets.

The Lakers are a willing recipient, and they can trade the 2014 No.7 pick, Steve Nash's expiring contract and other future assets for Irving.