Report: Cavs' Kyrie Irving upset he was included in George, Butler trade talks

The point guard's unhappiness reportedly helped lead to his eventual trade request

Kyrie Irving's request to be traded seemingly came out of nowhere, but his unhappiness with the Cavaliers had apparently been building for some time.

According to Ramona Shelburne, Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Irving was upset with the Cavs when he heard that he was included in potential deals for Jimmy Butler and Paul George earlier this summer. Via ESPN:

What followed was a whirlwind, with the Cavs putting forth a series of trade packages looking to acquire either Butler or George. Some of these talks included Irving, which upset him even more when he found out about it, sources said. Previously, [former Cleveland GM David] Griffin had worked to keep lines of communication with Irving open, but now Irving was in the dark.

Players' names are constantly thrown around in trade discussions, but it appears that Irving was more upset with the fact that, after Griffin's departure following the NBA Finals, nobody was keeping him up to date on what was going on.

The news of Irving's trade request took the NBA world by surprise and reportedly left LeBron James devastated. The Cavs are in the middle of a crucial summer as they try to build a team that can better compete with the Warriors, presuming they make it to the Finals for a fourth straight season.

They also have to worry about keeping James happy, as he can choose to become a free agent at the end of next season. Cleveland has a few options: Trade Irving for pieces that can help them win now, trade Irving for assets that will help build for the future or simply keep Irving and hope that you can make him once again feel comfortable on the team.

In any case it will be an interesting next few months for the Cavaliers, and perhaps the hiring of Koby Altman as general manager will help add some stability to a what has been tumultuous offseason.