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Cleveland Cavaliers: Can They Keep Kevin Love And Tristan Thompson?

By Gerald Bourguet

Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) talks with forward Kevin Love (0) and forward Tristan Thompson (13) against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. New York won 95-90. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) talks with forward Kevin Love (0) and forward Tristan Thompson (13) against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. New York won 95-90. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Apr 23, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) shoots for three points against the Boston Celtics during the second half in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 103-95. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

The Fit

This conversation involves more than just money, however. If Thompson’s impressive 2014-15 campaign — and even more impressive postseason — is any indication, the Cavs will have to worry about more than providing enough money to keep both their power forwards happy; they’ll also have to find enough minutes and responsibility to keep everyone satisfied.

In other words, if the Cavs give the indication that they’re leaning toward starting Thompson and asking Love to come off the bench next season, I’d be extremely surprised if Love took that slight in stride and remained a Cavalier.

The notion that Thompson should start over Love is ridiculous. While he’s clearly bolstered the Cavs’ defense, Love spreads the floor with a three-point shot that makes Cleveland impossible to defend. Additionally, their newfound “elite” defense might be more of a byproduct of their easy path to the Finals than it is of Thompson moving into the starting lineup.

In the first round, Cleveland quickly dispatched a Boston Celtics team with a losing record. In the next round, they faced a Chicago Bulls team that went two, three or four minutes at a time without scoring. And in the Finals, the Atlanta Hawks were banged up and missed an absurd amount of open looks, a trend that had been going on since the start of the postseason.

If the Cavs can somehow slow down the league’s second ranked offense in the Finals and win a championship, then we can revisit this conversation. But until then, asking Love to provide the scoring punch in a sixth man role would probably be the insane final straw for him, especially after a long season of being undervalued and constantly put under the microscope.

However, Thompson may also feel entitled to more of an expanded role after the team’s bountiful success in the playoffs, regardless of the quality of opponent the Cavs have faced. If he turned down $13 million a year at the start of the season, how highly will he value himself after this breakout postseason, especially if Cleveland somehow wins it all?

Don’t forget, we’ve already seen head coach David Blatt bench Kevin Love in fourth quarters to give the Cavs more of a defensive look. We’ve dealt with the whole “fitting in, fitting out” controversy and we’ve been talking about this Love melodrama all season long. This is a fragile situation from a “team fit” perspective, not just when it comes to money.

Next: Potential Hurdles

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