Before trading Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas and a bevy of other assets on Tuesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers discussed the possibility of swapping their All-Star point guard for Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson.
According to a report from The Undefeated, Golden State was uninterested and opted to keep its young core together, despite what would have likely been an upgrade from an offensive standpoint by swapping Thompson for Irving.
Altman was extremely focused on the future in making this trade, a source said. This trade may give James much more faith in Altman as a general manager. It would be hard to believe that Altman could have landed a better trade than the Boston one. He did call the uninterested Warriors about Klay Thompson, a source said.
Although a Klay-for-Kyrie swap would have shook the NBA to its core with another All-Star heading to the Bay Area, Cleveland has to be pleased with the haul it got for Irving. Not only did the Cavs add an All-Star-caliber point guard in the deal in Isaiah Thomas, but they also landed Brooklyn's 2018 first-round pick, Jae Crowder and Ante Zizic. That's enough assets to keep Cleveland afloat, whether LeBron stays or leaves in free agency next summer.
No matter how highly you view Thompson, it's hard to dispute that Cleveland was lucky that Golden State was uninterested in swapping guards, and came out better off dealing directly with the Boston Celtics, who owned enough assets to make a deal for Kyrie worth the Cavs' time.
