It would have been in the Cavs best interest to have a seasoned General Manager for this exact situation.
Since Dan Gilbert no longer had any use for David Griffin, it was the team owner pulling the strings to complete a Paul George trade to Cleveland.
Outside of dishing out a 3-year $22 million contract for a 36-year old Kyle Korver, the Cavaliers had been inactive this offseason. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski details how close a George to Cleveland deal nearly was.
In an appearance on The Jump Tuesday, ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski said the Indiana Pacers were so close to trading the playmaker to the defending Eastern Conference champions that they were “about to give permission to Paul George to get on the phone with [Cavs owner] Dan Gilbert,” via Ryne Nelson of Slam.
Wojnarowski, however, said Indiana “backed out of it and did the Oklahoma City deal,” trading George to the Thunder in one of the blockbuster moves of this offseason.
Indiana received Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in exchange for George and also ensured the playmaker would be out of the Eastern Conference in 2017-18 by sending him to Oklahoma City.
To no one’s surprise Gilbert and the Cavs pulled an Earnest Byner fumble at the goal line.
With reports of LeBron’s being upset in Cleveland, the majority of their deficiencies remain unanswered. They lack another creator with the ball and a strong wing defender. With Kevin Love’s value being held in less than high regards, it’s difficult to see how the Cavaliers make any significant roster moves to keep pace with the Warriors.
You can check out Woj’s comments below on the Gilbert George call which never was.
Just how close was Paul George to teaming up with LeBron? pic.twitter.com/e6ulIp0FFA
— ESPN (@espn) July 18, 2017