The Cleveland Cavaliers return from the All-Star break by hosting the Washington Wizards on Thursday night, which also marks the first time they'll be playing in front of their home fans since they made three trade-deadline deals that brought Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, and Rodney Hood to the franchise.
Many saw those trades as necessary due to the dysfunction in the locker room following an offseason of change and upheaval caused by Cleveland trading start point guard Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics.
Irving's trade demand came as a surprise over the summer, with many pointing to a reported rift between him and LeBron James along with other reports that James had attempted to get Irving dealt as the reasons behind the demand, but ESPN's Dave McMenamin reports Irving's unhappiness was with the front office.
According to McMenamin, the Cavs executives had a "what if?" discussion about his future with the franchise and word of that "sloppy" discussion ultimately got back to Irving, who made his trade demand shortly thereafter.
The discussion, characterized as "small talk" by one source familiar with its content, was less a formal straw poll of what the Cavs should do with their All-Star point guard should trade opportunities present themselves, and more of a thought exercise anticipating what the market could bear for a player of Irving's caliber.
The talk got back to Irving, multiple team sources told ESPN, and that served as the tipping point that led to Irving formally requesting a trade a little more than two weeks later.
The Cavs got what was perceived to be a good haul in return for Irving, acquiring Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and an unprotected 2018 first-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets. However, both Thomas - who was blamed for much of Cleveland dysfunction last month - and Crowder are no longer with the team.
Irving has been a star for Boston this season while leading them to the best record in the Eastern Conference (40-19), averaging 24.7 points and 5.0 assists per game.
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