Ahhhh the NBA trade buzz is finally in full effect. It has only been a couple of weeks since what is essentially the trade window opened, and big names are already being tossed around like hot potatoes. Some of those names include Andre Drummond, Jrue Holiday, Karl Anthony-Towns, Kyle Kuzma, and the man we are going to talk about today, Kevin Love.
Let’s just start by saying Cleveland is not dumb enough to attach first round picks to get a team to take him. Though it was reported by many over the summer, I do not believe that to be true currently. There is reportedly “fresh optimism” within the Cavs organization that they will soon find a trade they like for Love.
The Cavs will probably not ask for as much in return for the aging power forward as they’d like, but his contract is nowhere near as unattractive as deals like those of CP3 or Westbrook . Love has four years (including this one) left on his deal and he is owed approximately $30 mil a year.
Cleveland is not likely to get any firsts offered for Love like they probably hope, but they could still get a package of seconds in combination with a young player and expiring contract or something along those lines if they are lucky. The best offers they will get probably will come from teams that are not top free agent destinations.
Here are my most realistic trade ideas to get Kevin out of Cleveland:
Phoenix
Sends: Dario Saric, Tyler Johnson (expiring), Cheick Diallo, second round pick
Receives: Kevin Love
Portland
Sends: Hassan Whiteside (expiring), Mario Hezonja, package of seconds
Receives: Kevin Love, Alfonzo McKinnie
Miami
Sends: Goran Dragic (expiring), James Johnson, second round pick
Receives: Kevin Love, Matthew Dellavedova (expiring)
Dallas
Sends: Tim Hardaway Jr, Courtney Lee, second round pick
Receives: Kevin Love, Alfonzo McKinnie
Boston
Sends: Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter
Receives: Kevin Love, Matthew Dellavedova (expiring)
Big things coming from Fan Fuel Sports and the At The Minute Podcast in 2020. Multiple new podcasts and contributors coming to the site soon and some quality guests scheduled to come on the ATM, stay tuned!
