In the drip-drip-drip of Kyrie Irving trade speculation, one drop caught my ear Tuesday.

No, it wasn't any of the alleged drama between LeBron James and his Cavaliers teammate. Rather, it was a nugget from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith during a radio appearance on Mike & Mike.

We already knew that Irving apparently has four teams he would prefer to be traded to: New York, Miami, San Antonio and Minnesota.

Even fathoming that is still hard.

But Smith went a step further, reporting that those are indeed the four teams Irving would prefer to play for and adding, "Minnesota is his No. 1 preference."

Again, the logistics of such a trade would be complicated (at best), and Smith makes the good point that the Cavaliers can trade him to any team they please (or keep him).

But it's still interesting to consider the Wolves' new position.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.