Should Cleveland Cavaliers Pursue Kevin Love Trade No Matter What?: The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the hunt for a superstar not named LeBron James. Multiple reports have surfaced that the Cavs are interested in trading for Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love. Cleveland inquired about Love around the time of the June 26 NBA draft, dangling the first overall pick in front of Minnesota. Talks broke down after Love made it known he wasnt interested in signing with the team long term, reported Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Now, Wojnarowski says the Cavaliers are once again interested in Love, but only if they sign James in free agency. Chris Broussard of ESPN states that Love would 100 percent stay in Cleveland if it was to indeed sign James: While the LeBron Watch continues, why should the Pursuit of Love be put on hold? Wouldnt the Cavaliers want Love playing next to Kyrie Irving no matter what else happens? Depending on what they would have to give up to acquire Love, a core of him, Irving, Andrew Wiggins and Anderson Varejao would automatically be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference with lots of room to grow. After all, Love is just 25 years old to go along with the 22-year-old Irving and 19-year-old Wiggins. Plus, with James still deciding between Miami and Cleveland, per ESPNs Broussard and Brian Windhorst, wouldnt a trade for Love pretty much seal the deal on a return to the Cavs? For this reason and more, the Cavaliers shouldnt wait for James to make a decision in their pursuit of Love. Loves Contract Situation Set to make $15.7 million this season, Love can (and almost certainly will) opt out of his $16.7 million player option for 2015-16. This makes any trade for Love quite tricky. Without any assurance from him or his agent, the Cavs could risk getting Love as a one-year rental, especially if they dont sign James. Would Cleveland be willing to trade for Love, knowing that he could opt out and leave after just one season? I believe so, although it would definitely affect the compensation being offered for his services. Compensation for Love Even after dumping Tyler Zeller, Sergey Karasev and a top-10-protected 2016 first-round pick in a cap-space-clearing deal, the Cavaliers are still loaded with attractive trade assets. With Minnesota likely asking for draft picks, young talent and salary relief, heres what the Cavs could offer: * Wiggins, who was 2014s first overall pick and has unlimited upside * Dion Waiters, the fourth overall pick in 2012, who averaged 19.3 points and 3.7 assists after the All-Star break last season * Tristan Thompson, 2011s fourth overall pick, who finished sixth in NBA in offensive rebounding last year * Anthony Bennett, 2013s first overall pick, whos dropped significant weight this offseason * 2015 first-round pick from Miami Heat, top-10 protected * 2015 first-round pick from Memphis Grizzlies, protected from Nos. 1 to 5 and 15 to 30 * 2015 first-round pick (Chicago Bulls have right to swap first-rounders) Naturally, the first asset that Minnesota should ask for is Wiggins. After him, Waiters stands as the best trade chip. In 24 games as a starter last season, Waiters averaged 18.3 points and 3.5 assists. Thompson, 23, and Bennett, 21, are both young power forwards who could slide into Loves former position in Minnesota. While Thompson is much more developed and is a nightly double-double threat (36 last season), Bennett possesses the greater upside. While he struggled through his rookie season by being severely out of shape and playing in a Mike Brown-crafted offense, Bennett could still be quite good. As evidenced in a picture taken by Cavaliers TV play-by-play announcer Fred McLeod, Bennett has slimmed down quite a bit. Its worth noting that as he got more comfortable last season, Bennetts field-goal percentage jumped from 31.8 percent before the All-Star break to 47.3 percent after. Cleveland also has prospects Carrick Felix, Matthew Dellavedova, Scotty Hopson and Joe Harris to offer. Varejaos name could also come up, but the Cavs will almost certainly hang on to him until James makes a decision. Varejao is the only current Cavalier to have played with James during his first stay in Cleveland, and the two have a good relationship to this day. The Cavs have plenty to offer for Love, but what combination of picks and players would satisfy both sides? Trade Package A Cavaliers trade proposal for Love will revolve around one question: What are the chances hell re-sign? Obviously James would play a huge role in this, but for the time being, lets assume the Cavs are trying to trade for Love without knowing what LeBron will do. First of all, Wiggins should be off limits no matter what. The Timberwolves know theyll likely lose Love this offseason. The main leverage they possess are other strong potential offers (Golden State Warriors) on the table as well. In any proposal Minnesota receives, it wont get a player with as much upside as Wiggins. The Cavs dont necessarily have to include him to put together a strong offer. Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports that the Cavaliers have already told Wiggins he wont be traded, which is absolutely the right move without an extension confirmation from Love. With Wiggins off the table, Cleveland will almost have to include Waiters. The 22-year-old guard would blossom as a starter playing next to a pass-first point guard like Ricky Rubio. Next, the Cavs would either have to send Thompson, Bennett, or possibly both. Again, if Love hasnt committed, theres no way Cleveland should offer the two together. Let Minnesota choose one or the other. Draft picks now come into play. With three first-rounders to offer in the upcoming draft, Cleveland should be willing to part with up to two of its picks. Even with no assurance from Love, the Cavs should feel comfortable offering the Timberwolves a package of Waiters, Bennett and two 2015 first-round picks. Brendan Haywood ($2.2 million) could also be added to help match up salaries. Such a deal would leave the Cavaliers a core of Irving, Love, Wiggins, Thompson and Varejao while still preserving enough cap space to sign James. Even if James decides to stay in Miami, Cleveland would be left with two All-Stars, a top prospect and over $20 million in salary-cap space. Is it risky? Absolutely. However, a move like this would not only make the team more attractive to James but would set it up to add more talent through free agency or trade should be shun Cleveland. Whether LeBron signs or not, the Cavaliers should still pursue a trade for Love. —GS Stats provided by ESPN unless otherwise noted. Salary figures via shamsports. Read more NBA news on BleacherReport #Basketball #NBA #NBACentral #ClevelandCavaliers #fantasybasketball
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 12:02:43 +0000
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