Could Kyrie Irving be the MVP next year?

According to Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Sharp, Vegas has put odds on the MVP race and puts Kyrie Irving’s chances at 25 to 1. Note: I have no idea if these are real or if Sharp is just having fun making up numbers but for the sake of discussion, let’s go with it. Once again, don’t gamble kids.

The case for Irving is that if everything goes well and Brad Stevens unlocks another level in Kyrie that was being underutilized in Cleveland, he could force his way into the MVP conversation the same way Isaiah Thomas did a year ago.

The case against Irving, ...well, I’ll just let Sharp tell it, as only he can.

The second you think he's overrated, he'll go off and drop an effortless 45 and look like the most unstoppable scorer on earth. Then you start talking about him like he's better than Steph, and he'll go 7-of-20 from the floor and dribble for 45 minutes straight in a double-digit loss. I don't think this will change on a new team. Kyrie could average 30 points per game in Boston, be more efficient than he's ever been, and continue to be the most inscrutable player in the NBA. That's not an MVP.

At the end of the day, the discussion is somewhat moot since the award will likely either go to LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, or perhaps James Harden or Kawhai Leonard will finally get one.

Either way, it will be fun to see if Irving can at least start putting himself into these discussions.