Should Kyrie Irving have his Cleveland Cavaliers jersey retired?

Kevin Love believes Kyrie Irving should have his jersey retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a family reunion of sorts, as former Cavs player Kyrie Irving and current Cavs player Kevin Love reconnected as the two former NBA Champions clashed on the court on Monday night.

The Cavs lost the contest, but Love was happy to see Irving. So happy that when asked about Irving and his legacy with the Cavaliers, Love made it clear that he felt Irving should have his jersey retired, saying;

"Without a doubt. Absolutely. Right away, after his career ends. It’s not even a question to me. He needs to be up there. He made the biggest shot in franchise history and one of the most important shots in Finals history when you consider how it all went down — what it meant for the city, what it meant for his legacy, LeBron’s legacy and everything else, including that Golden State team that became a dynasty and was historically great"

Now, Love is a bit biased, he and Irving have a history together, so let’s look at this from a purely logical approach. Should Irving have his jersey retired by the Cavs?

Kyrie Irving should not have his jersey retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers if his career ended today

Now, I believe there are four prongs that one needs to be a franchise legend. Usually, two of the four will cement the debate for a franchise legend. Three will get you into generational greatness territory (I.E; “..he was great in his era”), while all four will see you among the greatest NBA players of all time.

I believe those four prongs to be the ability to get individual and team awards during a player’s tenure, their statistical impact on the team and all-time placement on franchise stat lists, their longevity with a franchise and the league, and how they’re perceived after they leave the team or retire.

Does Irving have individual and team awards? Yes. He went to four All-Star games in Cleveland, more than half of his career total of seven. He’s a one-time All-NBA player in Cleveland and of course, won an NBA title.

Does Irving have the stats? Yes, but barely. He’s among the Cavs’ Top 10 in field goals, three-pointers made, free throws made, and assists. Considering his talents, however, you’d think he’d be much higher in every category possible but instead, guys like Darius Garland are already catching up.

What about longevity? For the Cavs, he played six seasons and didn’t go to the playoffs once without LeBron James. Six seasons is a bit light, as it’s only slightly longer than JR Smiths’ tenure with the Cavs. And I said Smith didn’t have enough time. So I would rule that this is a no. Irving did not spend enough time or play enough games to make the cut here.

Lastly, is his perception positive? Frankly, that’s a no. It’s a “hell no”. Let’s ignore the antisemitism he was upholding earlier this season because I don’t think he’ll ever recover from that. Let’s just look at how he’s viewed by the fanbase; which is not very positive. He’s still the guy who blew up the Cavaliers’ championship window for selfish reasons. Sure, he’s taken some responsibility for that, depending on the day, but fans aren’t over it.

Now, his public perception and fan appreciation of him can and will change. For the better? For the worse? Who knows, but he hasn’t done a great job of fixing his self-image with all the constant “the earth is flat” nonsense.

People look at him rather unfondly and that may be the only reason the Cavs need to delay a jersey retirement ceremony. If they ever do one at all.

And I think they will. It just won’t be for another 10 or 20 years.