NBA Trade Rumors: Cavaliers Could Swap Kevin Love For Otto Porter Jr., According To ‘Bleacher Report’
After LeBron James left, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Kevin Love becomes one of the hottest commodities on the trade market. Despite the Cavaliers’ insistence that they plan on keeping him, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic revealed that multiple league sources informed him that Love is on the trading block. The Cavaliers want to remain competitive, but their roster, as currently constructed, may even have a hard time securing a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference next season.
Kevin Love, 29, is still in his prime and will be more useful to an NBA team who has a legitimate chance of winning an NBA championship title next season. According to Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, one of the potential trade destinations for Love is the Washington Wizards. Swartz suggested that the Wizards could swap Otto Porter Jr. for Love.
The proposed trade deal works on ESPN‘s NBA Trade Machine. Trading for Love makes a lot of sense for the Wizards as it will immediately address the two major issues on their roster — rebounding and floor-spacing. In 59 games he played last season, Love averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds on 45.8 percent shooting from the field and 41.5 percent from beyond the arc. Swartz believes the deal will also give Kelly Oubre Jr. more opportunity to prove himself as an official part of the Wizards’ starting lineup.
“The Wizards were 21st in both rebounds and made three-pointers this past season, which are Love’s biggest strengths,” Swartz wrote. “They also have 22-year-old Kelly Oubre Jr. waiting on the bench as a potential Porter replacement. The Wizards could make a big leap in the East standings with a starting lineup of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Oubre, Love and Dwight Howard. If Love opts out next summer, Washington would clear out nearly $26 million in cap space, while the Cavs would owe Porter $81.7 million over the next three years.”
Kevin Love Is Key Piece To Begin Inevitable Cavaliers Rebuild https://t.co/8wAg5ijDP2 @nvongunten_grs
— Amy Regal-Medinger (@amy_medinger) July 9, 2018
The potential acquisition of Kevin Love will undeniably put the Wizards in a strong position to fully dominate the vulnerable Eastern Conference next season. Having an experience playing alongside Kyrie Irving and LeBron James in Cleveland, Love won’t have a hard time teaming up with Bradley Beal and John Wall in Washington. The Wizards could also use Love at center when they want to go small ball.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers will receive a younger player who has shown lots of potentials to become a superstar in the league. Being the lone superstar in Cleveland, Otto Porter Jr. will be given the opportunity to go all out and show the league that he can be the main guy on a team. Porter Jr. is only 25 and fits well with the timeline of other Cavaliers’ young players such as Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., Cedi Osman, Ante Zizic, and Collin Sexton.
