Kevin Love Trade Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers Seek Love Trade; Asking Price Very High

Kevin Love trade rumors have the Cleveland Cavaliers asking a lot for the All-Star. Despite earlier Kevin Love trade rumors getting refuted by the front office in Cleveland, it now seems like the franchise is shopping him before the NBA trade deadline hits. A report from CBS Sports came out early Saturday, February 13, stating that sources are confirming that the Cavs are looking to deal Love. It also states that the asking price is considered to be extremely high at this point.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, there are trade rumors about the Cavs, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks possibly working on a three-way deal. In those rumors, it was stated that Carmelo Anthony would wind up the newest member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kevin Love would end up in Boston in the deal and the Celtics would send several young assets and picks to the Knicks. Though none of the teams confirmed these rumors, this revelation that the Cavs are shopping Love lends more credence to it.

So will these new Kevin Love trade rumors lead to anything? The Cavaliers are not looking to rebuild or save salary, so if the team isn’t getting back another significant player, there is no point to trading Love. Even if there are chemistry problems with the trio of Love, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving, it would weaken the team to simply trade Love for picks or younger players. A willingness to shake up the roster certainly shows how the front office is worried about competing with the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs though.

Kevin Love is having a down year with the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging just 15.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game this season. Love is shooting just 41.7 percent from the field and is taking six fewer shots per game than he did during the 2013-14 NBA season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. While he is still averaging a double-double for the Cavs, Love’s production isn’t what the team expected when it traded first-round pick Andrew Wiggins to the Wolves to acquire him.

Love is the second highest paid player on the Cavs, making just under $20 million this season. He is under contract through the 2019-20 NBA season, where he would make about $25.6 million with the team. The only player making more than him is LeBron James at a salary of $23 million this year and $24 million next season. As a team, the Cavs owe about $110 million in salary this season and should come in above the $100 million threshold next year as well.

Even with the roster problems and the constant Kevin Love trade rumors that the Cleveland Cavaliers have dealt with this season, the team still holds the best record in the Eastern Conference. Heading into the All-Star break, the Cavs are 38-14 and three games ahead of the Toronto Raptors for that top spot. The Cavs also lead the Indiana Pacers by 10 1/2 games for first place in the Central Division. It shows how the current roster might already be good enough to compete for the first NBA title in franchise history.

There are a lot of NBA analysts now stating that the Cavs are trying hard to trade Love before the deadline on February 18. Just because the team is looking to make a trade doesn’t mean that one is about to take place though. A team like the Boston Celtics would really like to make a Kevin Love trade in the next week, but Celtics president Danny Ainge isn’t going to overpay to make it happen. Even with all the rumors, the most likely scenario is that Love remains with the Cavs and they try to make a run at the NBA Finals. The NBA offseason could yield different results.