The Cleveland Cavaliers just brought LeBron James home.
Could another superstar soon be on the way?
While reports previously surfaced that the Cavs were interested in trading for Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love, the signing of James now makes a deal for Love more likely.
Marc Stein of ESPN says that Love is looking at Cleveland in a whole new light.
Source close to situation says Kevin Love indeed "intrigued" by idea of being dealt to Cavs and would commit long there if traded there
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 11, 2014
Chris Broussard of ESPN had previously confirmed Love's interest in the Cavaliers, should they land James.
Source who spoke with KLove says he would definitely "100 pct" stay in Cleveland longterm if LeBron is there
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 27, 2014
Depending on what they would have to give up to acquire Love, a core of the T-Wolves forward, James, Irving, Andrew Wiggins and Anderson Varejao would automatically be one of the best teams in the NBA. After all, Love is just 25 years old to go along with the 29-year-old James, 22-year-old Irving and 19-year-old Wiggins.
Now with James on board, the Cavs have a tremendous opportunity to take yet another step toward a title by landing an additional superstar in Love.Love's Contract SituationSet 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 him as a one-year rental, even after signing 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 LoveEven 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, here's what the Cavs could offer:Wiggins, who was 2014's 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, 2011's fourth overall pick, who finished sixth in NBA offensive rebounding last year
Anthony Bennett, 2013's first overall pick, who's 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 Love's 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.
It's worth noting that as he got more comfortable last season, Bennett's 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.Varejao's name could also come up, but the Cavs will almost certainly hang on to him given that he's a friend of James. 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 PackageA Cavaliers trade proposal for Love will revolve around one question: What are the chances he'll re-sign?
Obviously James now plays a huge role in this, but doesn't necessarily mean Love is a lock to re-sign.First of all, Wiggins should be off limits no matter what. The Timberwolves know they'll 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 won't get a player with as much upside as Wiggins. The Cavs don't necessarily have to include him to put together a strong offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment