NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs halt their efforts to acquire Butler or George

The Cavs’ aggressive attempts to put together three-team deals to land either Paul George or Jimmy Butler seem to have fallen through. 

This morning on ESPN Cleveland’s Really Big Show, Brian Windhorst indicated the Cavaliers have given up on talks to acquire star players Jimmy Butler and Paul George. He cited a lack of interest across the league in power forward Kevin Love as the primary reason for trade talks stalling.

Since losing the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors by a comfortable margin, the Cavs have eagerly pursued star wing players. Adding such a player would likely improve their chances of dethroning the Warriors next season. Love often struggled to stay on the floor against small lineups in the Finals. Pairing LeBron James and Kyrie Irving with George or Butler instead of Love would enable Cleveland to match the small lineups of the Warriors.

Windhorst was confident the Cavs would be unable to make a deal moving forward. “Nope. It’s not happening,” he said. As the NBA Draft and free agency unfold, however, a new window for the Cavs to acquire one of Butler or George may materialize. As matters currently stand, however, this is a disheartening result for Cleveland. The only real asset they can move in a blockbuster trade is Kevin Love. If he’s not attracting interest now, that may be an ominous sign for his trade value moving forward.

The fact that the organization could not come to a deal in the immediate wake of David Griffin’s unceremonious departure will also raise questions. We may never know if the organization’s decision to let Griffin go impacted trade talks or not, but the optics from afar are not good.

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The Cavs are obviously a fantastic team. They will be huge favorites to make the Finals for a fourth straight year, even without major changes. If the Cavs don’t pivot, though, they may face another demolition at the hands of the Warriors next season. New GM Chauncey Billups has his work cut out for him.