Cavs Explored Pairing LeBron James and Kevin Durant in Summer of 2016

On June 19, 2016, the Cavs beat the Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. 

Just over two weeks later, Kevin Durant announced that he was signing with Golden State.

The reigning two-time Finals MVP ultimately considered six teams -- Warriors, Thunder, Celtics, Spurs, Clippers, Heat.

The Cavs didn't make the final cut, but not because they didn't try.

ESPN's Zach Lowe has the details:

In late June 2016, just days after winning one of the most thrilling and historically significant NBA Finals in history, David Griffin, then the Cleveland Cavaliers' GM, gathered his staff and gave them a directive: Explore ways to get Kevin Durant.  

Everyone knew even getting a meeting was a long shot. They would have to gut most of their roster around LeBron James to acquire Durant. But they had to at least do their due diligence.

As we all know, Durant didn't give the Cavs a meeting.

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In a couple months, he will be a free agent again. This time around, will he seriously consider teamming up with LeBron?

It seems unlikely, but don't rule anything out.

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