The Cleveland Cavaliers are nothing but huge disappointments in the 2018-19 NBA season, and as of now, they are heading into an inevitable rebuild. After struggling earlier this season, the Cavaliers decided to move some of their veterans, including Kyle Korver and George Hill. As the February NBA trade deadline approaches, most people believe that Kevin Love could soon be on his way out of Cleveland.
Kevin Love is yet to become trade-eligible and is still recovering from an injury. However, Marc Stein of the New York Times revealed that some rival front offices view the Cavaliers’ All-Star forward as a “difference-maker” who is available for the “proverbial right price.” According to Dan Favale of Bleacher Report , one of the NBA teams who could express interest in trading for Love is San Antonio Spurs.
“Spurs coach-president Gregg Popovich never shies from dual-big lineups. Working through the logistics of an Aldridge-Love pairing is right up his alley. And San Antonio would still have Jakob Poeltl — and maybe Bertans — to mix and match with depending on defensive needs. Money is the larger issue. Love’s extension spans two years longer than the contracts for Aldridge and DeRozan. He removes the Spurs from the free-agency game for at least the next two summers. And, well, so what? They don’t profile as big spenders during that time anyway.”
NBA trade rumor rankings: Kevin Love at No. 1. https://t.co/E0Mk2TX0u8 pic.twitter.com/sW1ApU3zzq
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) January 11, 2019
Kevin Love may have failed to live up to expectations as the Cavaliers’ main guy, but he could still be a great addition to a team like the Spurs who need additional star power to make a deep playoff run this season. With his ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc, Love won’t have a hard time sharing the Spurs’ frontcourt with LaMarcus Aldridge. It’s also worth noting that Aldridge and Love can play both the center and the power forward positions.
In a proposed trade deal by Bleacher Report , the Spurs would be trading Davis Bertans or Marco Belinelli, Pau Gasol, and a 2019 first-round pick to the Cavaliers for Kevin Love. The deal will only benefit the Cavaliers in a way that they could save $13 million in salary cap space next year, while the 2019 first-round pick will enable them to add another young and promising talent who could help them speed up the rebuilding process.
However, despite Love’s recent performance and health issues, the Cavaliers must be expecting a better return for their lone superstar. Instead of aggressively pushing for a deal before the February NBA trade deadline, the Cavaliers could patiently wait for another year and try to increase Love’s trade value.
