Kyrie Irving Trade Rumors: Cavs Reportedly Wanted Jayson Tatum in Celtics Deal

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly didn't get everything they wanted in Tuesday's Kyrie Irving trade.

Shams Charania of The Vertical reported Cleveland acquired Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets' 2018 first-round pick for Irving.

Before the trade occurred, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England cited a league source who said Cleveland "didn't want to do a deal with the Celtics if Tatum, taken with the third overall pick in last June's NBA draft by Boston, wasn't included."

Despite Cleveland's reported interest in Tatum, it still netted a notable return package in the trade.

That Cleveland wanted Tatum wasn't particularly surprising considering Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com previously listed the Duke product as an example when he reported the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions were "fixated on a young star."

Irving's immediate future has been a primary discussion point throughout the offseason since Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported he asked the Cavaliers for a trade in part because he was tired of playing in LeBron James' shadow.

It makes sense for Cleveland to have sought Tatum and other pieces in addition to Thomas considering the age and contract differences between the two point guards. Irving is 25 years old and will not be an unrestricted free agent until 2019 at the earliest, per Spotrac, while Thomas is 28 years old and set to be an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming season, per Spotrac.

Even though they missed on Tatum, the Cavaliers will remain on the short list of title contenders for the 2017-18 campaign with Thomas and the surrounding pieces joining James and Kevin Love. As for Boston, it received one of the best young playmakers in the league in Irving and should compete with him for the next few seasons.