Report: Cavs busy chasing George, Butler

The Cavaliers have no picks in the two-round NBA draft June 22, but that doesn’t mean their team will remain as is when the draft concludes.

One day after stories surfaced of the Cavaliers showing interest in Paul George of the Pacers, the ever-vigilant unnamed sources told Marc Stein of ESPN the Cavaliers are trying to acquire Jimmy Butler of the Bulls.

Kevin Love would be the trade bait offered by the Cavaliers in both deals, according to the ESPN reports. The Love-for-George trade would be a one-for-one deal.

According to Stein’s report June 19, the Cavaliers would have to involve a third team to acquire Butler.

Love would go to the mystery team, the mystery team would send young players and/or draft picks to the Bulls and the Bulls would send Butler, a shooting guard/small forward, to the Cavaliers.

Other factors are in play as teams try to improve before the draft. For one, David Griffin will not be returning as Cavaliers general manager, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN and Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Wojnarowski reported Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and Griffin could not agree on the franchise’s future. Wojnarowski is also reporting former Pistons guard Chauncey Billups is a candidate to replace Griffin. A void in the front office at this critical time could hamper any bold trade possibilities.

The Celtics are reportedly interested in Butler, too, according to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN. Smith says the Celtics would send the third pick in the draft to Chicago for Butler as part of their strategy for

dethroning the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics finished as the top seed in the East (53-29) but were blown out by the Cavs (51-31) in the conference finals in five games.

“The Boston Celtics are planning on acquiring Jimmy Butler,” Smith said June 19 on First Take. “They don’t know if they’ll be able to, but their hope is they’ll be able to use the No. 3 pick, get themselves Jimmy Butler, go into free agency, get Gordon Hayward, and then combine Butler with Hayward, keeping Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley and those boys in tow, and making a legitimate run at the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference crown.”

Butler, 6-foot-7, will be 28 when the 2017-18 season begins. He had the best year of his career in 2016-17, averaging 23.9 points and 5.5 assists in 37 minutes. He is careful with the ball, averaging just 1.4 turnovers a game for his career.

Butler