Hindsight is usually 20/20. At the moment it’s more like 200/20.
In a lengthy—and fabulous–piece that detailed how the Dallas Mavericks stole Chandler Parsons from the Houston Rockets, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein dropped a few rumor missiles. One such rumor alleges Kyrie Irving recruited Parsons to play for the Cavaliers, and that the latter eventually became Plan B in the event LeBron James’ return fell through:
Yet the most serious early interest in Parsons in 2014 free agency actually came from Cleveland. It was widely assumed in Mavericks circles that Dallas would turn its attentions to Parsons once formally eliminated as an option by Melo and LeBron, but sources told ESPN.com that Parsons — before things really heated up with his eventual new employers — found himself being recruited by another All-Star peer he regards as a friend: Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving.
Sources say the Cavs, furthermore, would soon inform Parsons he was “Cleveland’s guy” if their ambitious bid to bring LeBron home unraveled.
Oh (to the) Em (to the) Gee.
Seeing Parsons and Irving play together would have certainly been fun. Parsons is the shooter Irving has yet to play alongside. Something tells me both he and Cavaliers fans will get over it, though. LeBron is a pretty damn good consolation prize. Kevin Love also shoots pretty well himself.
Obviously outdated, and bearing no impact on the future whatsoever, this is just a fun, FYI rumor. It’s pretty wild to think how much the Cavaliers were scrambling and how wide a net they were casting. If nothing else, it dispels the notion that they were absolutely sure LeBron was coming home, like his return was contrived and actually four years in the making or something.
That the Cavaliers apparently called Parsons their “guy” is powerful. Were they prepared to give him more money than Dallas ultimately gave him? Or is that just how free-agency pursuits go down these days?
You’re our guy, Carmelo. So are you, Mr. Ariza. Hey Signore Bledsoe! You’re soooooo much our guy it’s not even funny. Yo, Bosh. You be our guy. (You get the point).
More likely than the Cavaliers promising the world to every free agent available in case LeBron pulled the dip is them actually being high on Parsons. Whether that’s because they were oh so desperately trying to please Irving or actually high on him doesn’t matter. Especially now.
But in the interest of continuing to pull at the thread, maybe they thought Irving, Parsons, Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins would be enough to get them into the playoffs next year. Or maybe they thought Parsons was just the offensive buffer Love would need to change his tune and accept a trade to Cleveland.
Lucky for them, if it was indeed the latter, they didn’t have to find out. Parsons probably wouldn’t have been enough to gain Love’s allegiance. LeBron has that power; Parsons doesn’t. The Cavs won here.
Good thing, too. There’s no telling what a failed recruiting endeavor would have done to the freshly signed Irving and his jump shot next season.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
