Cavs rejected Paul George deal & lost out on Chris Paul because of Kyrie Irving

It would be an understatement to say that Kyrie Irving has put the Cleveland Cavaliers in a tough spot.

Usually in late July, when summer league is ending and the free agency frenzy has dried up, basketball typically takes a back seat to baseball and the start of football training camp. However, Cavs star, Kyrie Irving, has catapulted the NBA back to the top of the sports world headlines with his shocking trade request. Apparently playing with LeBron James and going to NBA Finals isn’t all what it’s cracked up to be.

At any rate, because of Irving’s ill-timed request, the Cavaliers are in a conundrum because of the fact that many of the players that were on the market have either signed with other teams or have been traded. Two of these players that the Cavaliers could have had a chance to pair with Bron-Bron would have been Chris Paul and Paul George according to reports.

Via Cleveland.com:

I know Indiana asked the Cavs for Irving in a trade for Paul George. This was when David Griffin was still the general manager. His goal was to add George to the combination of Irving and James — to compete with Golden State.

Via RealGM:

The Cleveland Cavaliers believe they could have turned Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love into Chris Paul and Paul George in June.

Cleveland kept both Irving and Love in June as they were unaware Irving would soon be requesting a trade before the end of July.

If there is a silver lining for the Cavaliers it’s that Derrick Rose is still available. And while he’s not of Kyrie’s caliber, Rose showed that he still has plenty left in the tank as he dropped 18 points per game last season while with the New York Knicks. Add to the fact that the Cavaliers are likely to get back a very good second fiddle – possibly Carmelo Anthony –  you can see why the Cavs would still be in very good shape to make yet another NBA Finals.

Lastly, don’t rule out the possibility of a Kevin Love trade either. Love’s name has perpetually been in the rumor mill since seemingly arriving in Cleveland a few years back. Could Love net the Cavs back a player like DeMarcus Cousins?

Stay tuned…