“You’d have to go a long way to convince me that we’re a better team winning in the Finals without a player like Kevin on our team. We’ve never once put together an offer involving Kevin, nor have we taken a call on an offer for Kevin.”
That was Cleveland Cavaliers GM David Griffin’s response when asked if stretch forward Kevin Love could be traded at any point this season. The aforementioned answer, which sure seemed like a pretty emphatic “no,” came just a couple weeks ago.
If we’re to believe the latest rumors circling the NBA, Griffin’s stance on the matter has changed completely.
Numerous reports have been surfacing in the past day claiming that, not only is a Love trade possible, but that the Cavs have been actively shopping him around the league. Word is Cleveland’s asking price is high, but it hasn’t stopped the team from reaching out to other franchises to discuss a potential deal before this Thursday’s trade deadline.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Love found himself in trade rumors just like this last season. The main cause now, as it was then, is the continued struggles Love has had with consistently contributing and fitting in with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
So, for the second time in as many trade deadlines, Love’s future with Cleveland appears to be unclear. Will this be yet another example of rumor mill fodder? Or do the Cavs actually intend to pull the trigger this time?
Quite frankly, it’s a bit surprising to see Love’s name popping up in massive trade rumors again. This wasn’t really the case last year, as stories of his inability to gel with Cleveland’s other stars permeated throughout the season. The fact that he was coming up on the end of his contract didn’t help matters.
However, things seemed to figure themselves out. Love reached out to James over the offseason to clear the air, leading to his signing a max deal with the Cavs. Though he’s still had his ups and downs this year, Love seems to be making better progress with James and Irving.
Yet, here we are again, reading stories about a potential deal with the Boston Celtics or an out-of-nowhere mega-trade for New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony. These stories will likely only keep coming as Thursday’s deadline nears. However, as was the case last season, it’s difficult to determine the validity of these rumors.
For one, Love isn’t exactly as easy to trade this time as he was last year. His expiring contract from last season made it a little more appealing for other teams, especially those willing to make a last-ditch effort for a playoff push. This time around, he’s half a year into a max contract, so interested parties would need to be willing to make a deal knowing they were investing in Love for the long haul.
Secondly, the rumors themselves seem to be a bit far-fetched. Why would the Cavs preach the need for ball movement and defense, then swing a trade for Anthony, a player not really known for accepting either of those concepts? What exactly would Cleveland get from Boston that would make a Love trade worth it?
Sure, there’s always the potential of a multi-team deal. At the same time, if the Cavs are willing to trade Love, there’s just no way they can do so without getting significant players in return. From that perspective, it’s good that the rumors claim Cleveland’s asking price is high.
But what does this all mean for Love? For the second time in as many seasons he’s spent in Cleveland, he’s reading about potentially getting traded. Sure, that’s life in the NBA. At the same time, you wouldn’t blame him for assuming that, once he signed his max deal, he’d be staying in Cleveland for a while.
For Love, the size of his contract doesn’t seem to matter, as once again he’s unsure just how much longer he’ll be in Cleveland.
