As soon as the NBA free agency period started this summer, several big-name NBA players were quickly moved to new teams.From Chris Paul going to the Houston Rockets to Paul George heading to the Oklahoma City Thunder to Gordon Hayward signing with the Boston Celtics, moves were made at a breakneck speed.Then came the biggest bombshell of the offseason, in the form of star Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving asking to be traded.According to Cleveland.com columnist Terry Pluto, had Irving made his trade request sooner, both he and the Cavs could have been in a better spot right now:"I know Indiana asked the Cavs for Irving in a trade for Paul George," Pluto writes. "This was when David Griffin was still the general manager. His goal was to add George to the combination of Irving and James -- to compete with Golden State."If Irving had let the team know of his desire to leave right after the season, there would have been more options open to him and the Cavs."But PG-13 wasn't the only star player the Cavaliers could have gotten if they had been more willing to move Irving and/or Kevin Love earlier this offseason.According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, CP3 could have been a Cavalier now, too, if only Irving hadn't waited until late July to make his request:

Currently, Irving is stuck in no-man's land, as the trade that was completed to send him to the Boston Celtics has hit a stalemate.

The Cavaliers have concern about Isaiah Thomas's hip injury, which has put the entire deal on hold as Cleveland tries to squeeze more assets out of the Celtics.

However, the point made above still stands - if Irving had been up front about his wishes this offseason, he could have already been on a new team and the Cavaliers could have a different superstar or two in the fold with LeBron James.

Whether or not the deal between the Celtics and Cavs is eventually finalized remains to be seen, but if it's not, both squads will be in an awkward spot. Boston will have to welcome back the players it agreed to trade and Cleveland will once again be stuck with an unhappy point guard.

However, whether the deal happens or not, both teams figure to be among the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season. Still, the Cavaliers will be stuck wondering what could have been if they had known Irving was unhappy sooner.