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- Former NBA executive discloses how much Cavs would likely pay Jarrett Allen in long-term deal
- Andre Drummond has hilarious reaction to finding out Cavs traded for another center in Jarrett Allen
- Report: Cavs waive 2 players in aftermath of blockbuster James Harden trade
- Report: Cavs acquire Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince in blockbuster James Harden deal
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- Report: Cavs reveal MRI results of Collin Sexton’s latest injury
- Report: Cavs considered adding Jeremy Lin before signing Yogi Ferrell
- Kevin Porter Jr. highlights relationship with Carmelo Anthony as he remains away from Cavs
- Report: Steve Nash continues to have no update on Kyrie Irving’s mysterious absence from Nets
Report: LeBron James Wanted Cavs to Trade for Damian Lillard
- Updated: December 5, 2018

As the Cleveland Cavaliers hold one of the worst records in the NBA due to the departure of LeBron James, it’s fair to wonder what could have made the superstar stay in Northeast Ohio.
According to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, it appears James didn’t even get close to having one of his requests granted from the Cavs front office:
“League sources say that when James became convinced [Kyrie] Irving couldn’t be persuaded to stay in Cleveland, he suggested to the Cavs front office that it deal Irving to the Blazers for All-Star point guard Damian Lillard. The Cavs never called the Blazers, but James’ interest has led to speculation about the Lakers trading for Lillard.”
Although the Cavs never called about Lillard’s availability, the Portland Trail Blazers All-Star would have been a pretty good replacement for Irving. Lillard is one of the best point guards in the association, with career averages of 23.3 points, 6.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. In fact, those numbers are just a bit better than Irving’s career stats.
A combo of Lillard and James surely would have kept the NBA Finals between the Cavs and Golden State Warriors competitive. Instead, Cleveland traded Irving to the Boston Celtics for a package headlined by a 2018 lottery pick, which turned into Collin Sexton, and Isaiah Thomas, who didn’t even finish the season on the Cavs.
While some of the guys in the Celtics-Cavs trade were dealt elsewhere for better complementary players, none of them were close to Lillard’s caliber. The Cavs ended up getting smothered by the Warriors in four games, and James subsequently took his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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