Cavs PG Kyrie Irving lost $7-10 million by missing cut in All-Star voting
By missing the cut for an All-Star starting spot in fan voting, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving missed out on a contractual clause that could have brought him $7 to $10 million in extra pay, according to Joe Vardon at Cleveland.com.
Irving's teammate LeBron James will make his 11th straight All-Star start after finishing first in the East with 1.47 million votes, Irving, however, failed to make the final cut despite being voted in last year and winning the game's MVP award. James was the only Cavalier to earn a starting spot.
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Because Irving signed a max extension last year, totaling $90 million over five years, he was eligible to earn the extra money under the "Derrick Rose" provision if he met specific standards. To earn the money, Irving had to either be voted into the All-Star game via fan voting or win the league's MVP award this season.
The 22-year-old finished fourth place in fan voting among guards; teammate Kevin Love finished sixth among frontcourt players.
Irving and Love, whose Cavaliers are 23-20 and fifth in the Eastern conference, now depend on being selected as reserves by Eastern conference coaches in order to make it to the All Star game. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their own teams.
Irving, who is averaging 21 points and 5.3 assist per game this year, is slated to make more than $14 million next season.
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Washington's John Wall and Toronto's Kyle Lowry will be the Eastern Conference's starting guards, while Chicago's Pau Gasol and Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks will join James in the front court.
- Christopher Woody
