In the days leading up to the draft, sources said, the Cavs had talks with the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz as they looked for a way to get George. The most serious of those conversations involved the Suns and a package including the No. 4 overall pick and Eric Bledsoe. The Jazz had expressed interest in Irving for the past few years, but sources said those discussions never got that serious.
On draft night, as the Chicago Bulls were finalizing a deal with the Wolves to move Butler, the Cavs were feverishly trying to assemble a three-team trade with the Pacers. The Denver Nuggets had a strong desire to acquire Kevin Love and became a legitimate trade partner with Indiana. The Nuggets were willing to include wing Gary Harris and the No. 13 pick in that night's draft to get Love, and the Cavs would reroute the assets to Indy for George, sources said.
But they couldn't complete the deal. Indiana was working on another option with the Portland Trail Blazers, sources said, as they were offering a package with three first-round picks for George. Eventually, everyone moved on and the Nuggets traded the No. 13 pick to Utah in a package for Trey Lyles.
Over the next week, the Cavs were in a state of uncertainty. Billups had two interviews with Gilbert, one in Detroit and another in Cleveland, but he hadn't accepted the job. Meanwhile, Koby Altman had moved from No. 3 to acting No. 1, working on trade calls as the interim GM while hearing reports of Billups and whom he might bring in to fill his front office.
The Cavs kept working with the Nuggets, trying to win a deal that would satisfy the Pacers and allow Denver to get Love and the Cavs to get George. Both were concerned about Boston, who could trump their offers for George but might have been waiting to see if it could secure Gordon Hayward in free agency after July 1.
On the afternoon of June 30, the sides thought they had a deal. On a conference call between the teams, everyone tentatively agreed. George to the Cavs, Love to the Nuggets, Harris and other pieces to the Pacers, sources said.
Plans were put in place for a call to be arranged between George and Gilbert, an important step before the trade would become final, sources said. The front office began making other plans to complement George as free agency was about to begin.
But then Pritchard, who had been on the conference call when the deal was tentatively agreed to, sent the message that his team was backing out, sources said. There was no deal.
The teams tried to save it, but shortly thereafter, news broke that George was being traded to Oklahoma City. Pritchard might have had many reasons for changing his mind, including not wanting to trade George to a division rival. In the end, all that mattered was George was no longer an option for the Cavs.
Over the next week, the Cavs signed point guard Jose Calderon and forward Jeff Green and re-signed wing Kyle Korver. They had missed out on Butler, George and Chris Paul, who in a reversal went to the LA Clippers and asked to be traded to the Houston Rockets instead of becoming a free agent.
And they didn't get Billups. He withdrew from consideration of being Griffin's replacement on July 3 after several rounds of contract talks with Gilbert failed. Four days later, with the coaching staff and front office in Las Vegas for the start of summer league, Irving's stunning request came.
After the meeting, Gilbert flew to Nevada to join the team and for the standard summer ownership meetings. He called a meeting in his hotel suite with his front office, including Altman, and informed them of Irving's request, sources said.
It was a long meeting in which the group began the difficult discussions about how to move forward. They decided they would take their time, study the process and look for a way to maximize the situation. Gilbert gave his young group a jolt of confidence and they left believing they could still emerge from this situation OK. Irving has immense trade value, and they would have the chance to retrofit the roster in a way that might help them against the Warriors.
In the following days, Cavs players, including James, began to hear the news. Some were taken aback.
"Sure, we've had our fair share of moments and kind of chaotic times, and that's obviously been well documented, but at the same time we've had a lot of joy," one Cavs player told ESPN. "I hope Kyrie is with us, that's all I got to say. At the end of the day, we're pretty f---ing good."
The situation remained mostly secret, though rumblings of Irving's displeasure started to ripple through the summer league rumor mill. Gilbert opened contract talks with Altman to take over as permanent GM, eventually agreeing with him on a three-year contract. Altman decided to make Mike Gansey, who once played for the Cavs' D-League team in Erie, Pennsylvania, and has slowly risen through the ranks after starting as an intern, his No. 2.
Then, on Friday, it went public with an ESPN report, and the Cavs' phones started exploding with interest around the league. Internally, the team and players had already gone through stages of shock.
That included James, who changed his social media mood late Saturday, going melancholy. In his classic, multilayered way, he posted a short video on Instagram with a new song from Meek Mill called "Heavy Heart" blasting inside a car, nodding and shaking his head to these lyrics:
Damn, the game left me with a heavy heart.
The streets left me with a heavy heart.
N----- said they with you when they really not.
No hashtags this time.
On draft night, as the Chicago Bulls were finalizing a deal with the Wolves to move Butler, the Cavs were feverishly trying to assemble a three-team trade with the Pacers. The Denver Nuggets had a strong desire to acquire Kevin Love and became a legitimate trade partner with Indiana. The Nuggets were willing to include wing Gary Harris and the No. 13 pick in that night's draft to get Love, and the Cavs would reroute the assets to Indy for George, sources said.
But they couldn't complete the deal. Indiana was working on another option with the Portland Trail Blazers, sources said, as they were offering a package with three first-round picks for George. Eventually, everyone moved on and the Nuggets traded the No. 13 pick to Utah in a package for Trey Lyles.
Over the next week, the Cavs were in a state of uncertainty. Billups had two interviews with Gilbert, one in Detroit and another in Cleveland, but he hadn't accepted the job. Meanwhile, Koby Altman had moved from No. 3 to acting No. 1, working on trade calls as the interim GM while hearing reports of Billups and whom he might bring in to fill his front office.
The Cavs kept working with the Nuggets, trying to win a deal that would satisfy the Pacers and allow Denver to get Love and the Cavs to get George. Both were concerned about Boston, who could trump their offers for George but might have been waiting to see if it could secure Gordon Hayward in free agency after July 1.
On the afternoon of June 30, the sides thought they had a deal. On a conference call between the teams, everyone tentatively agreed. George to the Cavs, Love to the Nuggets, Harris and other pieces to the Pacers, sources said.
Plans were put in place for a call to be arranged between George and Gilbert, an important step before the trade would become final, sources said. The front office began making other plans to complement George as free agency was about to begin.
But then Pritchard, who had been on the conference call when the deal was tentatively agreed to, sent the message that his team was backing out, sources said. There was no deal.
The teams tried to save it, but shortly thereafter, news broke that George was being traded to Oklahoma City. Pritchard might have had many reasons for changing his mind, including not wanting to trade George to a division rival. In the end, all that mattered was George was no longer an option for the Cavs.
Over the next week, the Cavs signed point guard Jose Calderon and forward Jeff Green and re-signed wing Kyle Korver. They had missed out on Butler, George and Chris Paul, who in a reversal went to the LA Clippers and asked to be traded to the Houston Rockets instead of becoming a free agent.
And they didn't get Billups. He withdrew from consideration of being Griffin's replacement on July 3 after several rounds of contract talks with Gilbert failed. Four days later, with the coaching staff and front office in Las Vegas for the start of summer league, Irving's stunning request came.
After the meeting, Gilbert flew to Nevada to join the team and for the standard summer ownership meetings. He called a meeting in his hotel suite with his front office, including Altman, and informed them of Irving's request, sources said.
It was a long meeting in which the group began the difficult discussions about how to move forward. They decided they would take their time, study the process and look for a way to maximize the situation. Gilbert gave his young group a jolt of confidence and they left believing they could still emerge from this situation OK. Irving has immense trade value, and they would have the chance to retrofit the roster in a way that might help them against the Warriors.
In the following days, Cavs players, including James, began to hear the news. Some were taken aback.
"Sure, we've had our fair share of moments and kind of chaotic times, and that's obviously been well documented, but at the same time we've had a lot of joy," one Cavs player told ESPN. "I hope Kyrie is with us, that's all I got to say. At the end of the day, we're pretty f---ing good."
The situation remained mostly secret, though rumblings of Irving's displeasure started to ripple through the summer league rumor mill. Gilbert opened contract talks with Altman to take over as permanent GM, eventually agreeing with him on a three-year contract. Altman decided to make Mike Gansey, who once played for the Cavs' D-League team in Erie, Pennsylvania, and has slowly risen through the ranks after starting as an intern, his No. 2.
Then, on Friday, it went public with an ESPN report, and the Cavs' phones started exploding with interest around the league. Internally, the team and players had already gone through stages of shock.
That included James, who changed his social media mood late Saturday, going melancholy. In his classic, multilayered way, he posted a short video on Instagram with a new song from Meek Mill called "Heavy Heart" blasting inside a car, nodding and shaking his head to these lyrics:
Damn, the game left me with a heavy heart.
The streets left me with a heavy heart.
N----- said they with you when they really not.
No hashtags this time.
@ "blindsided"
to the best one on one scorer in the league