Kyrie Irving tried to recruit Chandler Parsons to Cleveland Cavaliers

Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers pursued Chandler Parsons at the beginning of the 2014 NBA offseason.

Chandler Parsons ended up having a successful restricted free agency, with the small forward signing a three-year, $46 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks.

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But Chandler Parsons to Dallas wasn’t a lock from the get-go. In fact, Chandler Parsons’ top suitor at the start of free agency was the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Kyrie Irving playing a role in the recruiting process, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.

"It was widely assumed in Mavericks circles that Dallas would turn its attentions to Parsons once formally eliminated as an option by Melo and LeBron, but sources told ESPN.com that Parsons — before things really heated up with his eventual new employers — found himself being recruited by another All-Star peer he regards as a friend: Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving.Sources say the Cavs, furthermore, would soon inform Parsons he was “Cleveland’s guy” if their ambitious bid to bring LeBron home unraveled."

It’s interesting to imagine Chandler Parsons on the Cavs in an alternate reality. Cleveland desperately needed to address the small forward position this offseason and Chandler Parsons would have made a lot of sense.

Ultimately, both Cleveland and Chandler Parsons came away winners. The Cavs got the best small forward in the game and their true No. 1 guy in LeBron James and Chandler Parsons was paid big money by one of the more successful teams of the past decade.

Chandler Parsons averaged 16.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this past season with the Houston Rockets.

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