The NBA trade rumors continue with LeBron James "request" for a playmaker.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, specifically their front office, are being chided for being under LeBron James' beck and call. Pundits even went as far as calling James' the "de facto GM." What is clear now is that he is definitely part of the decision making and is definitely being consulted with regards to the general direction of the team.
While the Cavs have made their statements through coach Tyronn Lue (h/t Cleveland.com): "Anyone insinuating that this organization is about anything other than that would deeply upset me because ownership has invested in this at an absolutely historic level."
Gm David Griffin had to balance out accommodating LeBron James but also carrying the sentiment of team ownership.
"The comment about the organization being complacent I think is really misguided," Griffin said. "Organizationally there is absolutely no lack of clarity on what our goal set is. We are here to win championships and there is no other solution, there is no other outcome that is acceptable and there never has been."It certainly wasn't appropriate from a teammate perspective."
Despite their tough stance, the Cavs apparently still pursued a point guard as alleged in a report by Keith Pompey of Philly.com.
"The Cleveland Cavaliers approached the Sixers several weeks ago about acquiring McConnell in a trade, according to several sources. The Sixers declined the offer." Pompey reported.
"The Cavs wanted to put together a deal that would have brought Jordan McRae back to Philly. The Sixers acquired McRae in the second round of the 2014 draft. The Sixers sent him to Australia to play for Melbourne United during the 2014-15 season. McRae was waived by the Sixers on Oct. 26, 2015," the report concluded.
Was McConnell approved as a target by LeBron James? Probably, since there was already a meeting between James and team owner Dan Gilbert. However, the offer they made was rather weak. Why would the Sixers take Jordan McRae back when they already made McConnell-an undrafted player work for them?
Does this set the tone on what type of point guard Lebron is looking for? McConnell is still quite young to be a veteran and does not have playoff experience in any way, but perhaps the Cavs do not want to touch their rotation players just to fulfill the King's wishes.