Some were surprised that the Cleveland Cavaliers were willing to trade Kyrie Irving to their biggest Eastern Conference rival, but the team was reportedly willing to make a move that would have been even more controversial.
According to a tidbit from Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated, before ultimately trading Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas and others, the Cavaliers tried to engage the Golden State Warriors in talks centering around Klay Thompson.
The Warriors, however, had no interest in such a swap, and talks went nowhere.
Imagine if the Cavaliers had managed to pull this one off. Trading with the Warriors, their primary rival for NBA titles, would have been enormously controversial. Golden State, though, is firmly devoted to Thompson, as this isn’t the first potentially huge deal that they turned down that would have involved him.
