Cavs’ attempt to acquire PG T.J. McConnell rejected by Sixers

What Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James wants, James seems to get. After stating that the Cavs need a legitimate backup point guard to ease the burden off he and Kyrie Irving and allow them to not have to play as much as they currently do, at least in the regular season, another name has surfaced.

According to philly.com’s Keith Pompey, the wine and gold tried to acquire Philadelphia Sixers point guard T.J. McConnell, but the offer was rejected by Philly several weeks ago.

The Cleveland Cavaliers approached the Sixers several weeks ago about acquiring McConnell in a trade, according to several sources. The Sixers declined the offer.

The Cavs wanted to put together a deal that would have brought Jordan McRae back to Philly. The Sixers acquired McRae in the second round of the 2014 draft. The Sixers sent him to Australia to play for Melbourne United during the 2014-15 season. McRae was waived by the Sixers on Oct. 26, 2015.

Since the start of the new year, when he was inserted into the starting lineup following their game on December 30, the 24-year-old’s high energy and spirit has helped lead the Sixers to winning 10 of their last 15 games.

In his second season in the NBA, McConnell is averaging 5.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 23.4 minutes per game. He is also shooting 45 percent from the floor and 26 percent from long distance in 44 games (14 starts). While he’s not much of a shooter from beyond the arc, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound guard would have been the playmaker that the Cavs badly need off the bench as the team’s backup point guard. Along with easing the burden off James and Irving as the primary ball handlers, McConnell would have been someone that head coach Tyronn Lue could have trusted to take over the the ball handling duties at times.

He seems to compare fairly well to Matthew Dellavedova, who the Cavs let walk away (to the Milwaukee Bucks) during the summer after a much-deserved pay day. His energy and ability to spread the ball around the court, along with his cheap $874,636 salary this season to go along with two $1 million options the next two seasons, seems to be the reason why Sixers head coach wants to keep the point guard.