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Koby Altman made an enormous splash in his first significant move as the Cavaliers GM, trading Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s unprotected 2018 first round pick.
Well, you don’t pull off a deal like that with limited leverage without being ballsy, and boy, did Altman apparently shoot his shot in calling the Golden State Warriors about Klay Thompson, via the Undefeated:
Altman was extremely focused on the future in making this trade, a source said. This trade may give James much more faith in Altman as a general manager. It would be hard to believe that Altman could have landed a better trade than the Boston one. He did call the uninterested Warriors about Klay Thompson, a source said.
Well, credit to Altman for trying. Klay’s upcoming free agency that could vault Golden State’s payroll into unprecedented levels has garnered attention. But just like Klay, Irving only has two years left on his deal, so they’d have to pay the piper at the same time with a fit that is hilariously worse for the team.
This is the kind of rumor that you can quietly chuckle at and move on from, but man, if we thought that trading with your conference rival was awkward, how about the team you’ve played in three straight Finals.