Rumors of a blockbuster Irving-Harden swap swirled as LeBron James weighed his free agency options, but internal front-office realities and player loyalty swiftly derailed the hypothetical megadeal.
Just before he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron James seemingly dragged the Dallas Mavericks back into his free agency decision.
A report emerged suggesting the NBA's all-time leading scorer was delaying the announcement of his next destination to give his suitors time to try and swing a trade for either Kyrie Irving or Anthony Davis.
That storyline turned out to be false, of course, because James chose the City of Brotherly Love without being joined by Irving or Davis.
But was there ever any traction on such a deal that included the Mavericks?
It appears not.
One of the rumored possibilities was for James and Irving to reunite with the Cleveland Cavaliers — the team that same duo delivered a championship to over a decade ago.
It never materialized into anything more, though, according to ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel.
There were never conversations that took place between the Mavs' and Cavs' front offices surrounding the hypothetical that would've sent Irving back to Cleveland while bringing James Harden ... presumably on a new contract ... to Dallas.
"Keeping Harden and agreeing to a new contract has been the plan for the Cavs since he opted out of his contract to help the team," Siegel wrote.
Harden staying in Cleveland isn't the only retention that held this swap from coming together, however.
Kyrie didn't want to leave Dallas, either.
"League sources said James had been angling for former teammate Irving to join him in Cleveland, but the Dallas Mavericks have had no interest in engaging the Cavaliers in a trade, and Irving is believed to be comfortable where he is," ESPN's Vincent Goodwill wrote the day of James' decision.
So ... to recap ... this means:
1. There was never contact between Masai Ujiri and Kolby Altman on a Irving-Harden swap.
2. James picked his next team without being joined by Irving or Davis.
3. The Cavaliers never actually planned on moving Harden; rather, they want to extend him.
4. Irving appears content waiting to see how all of the Mavericks' new pieces and management fit together before demanding a trade out of Dallas.
Based on all of that data, we can comfortably come to a conclusion that:
No, the Mavericks were never going to trade Kyrie Irving for James Harden.
If James' decision to join Philadelphia without reuniting with Irving or Davis and head coach Dusty May's recent praise of Irving weren't already enough evidence that Dallas' future Hall of Fame guard is staying put, a logical breakdown of each development leads to the same conclusion.
