The NBA2K franchise has been one of the most popular sports games for years, but this year's version, "NBA 2K18," faces a pretty significant problem. That's because Kyrie Irving -- who graces this year's game cover in a Cavaliers uniform -- just got traded to the Boston Celtics.

We knew this could be a problem when Irving requested a trade earlier this summer, but on Tuesday it became a real issue when Irving was dealt for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round pick. The NBA2K Twitter account was quick to acknowledge the messy situation.

The NBA2K franchise has developed its own curse of sorts when it comes to cover athletes. Last year Paul George was the 2K17 cover athlete as an Indiana Pacer -- he was traded to the Thunder earlier this summer.

To this point they've never had a cover athlete traded before the season even starts. There is precedent, however, as Brett Favre was traded to the Jets before the release of "Madden 09" and the EA Sports folks scrambled to change the cover art before the season.

As for the NBA2K franchise, it shouldn't be too hard to change the cover art -- TNT did a redesign in less than an hour.

Whatever they decide to do, they better do it quickly -- "NBA2K18" is available for customers who pre-order on Sept. 15.