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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
May 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (right) high fives guard J.R. Smith (5) and guard Iman Shumpert (4) during the fourth quarter in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Cavaliers won 94-82. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

Potential Hurdles

We’ve already covered most of these hurdles, but it bears repeating: some players are going to have to make sacrifices for this contender to stay intact.

If Thompson is not satisfied with what the Cavs are willing to offer him this summer, that’s a potentially unpleasant restricted free agency situation waiting to happen — one we’ve seen resolved peacefully with Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns and one we’ve seen go unresolved so far with Greg Monroe and the Detroit Pistons.

If Love is asked to come off the bench or even worse, the Cavs decide they’re comfortable embracing a defensive identity and moving on with Thompson instead, Love will be gone. The good news is that as of right now, he still wants to be a Cavalier next season.

But it’s not just about what Love wants. In that respect, it might be more likely for the Cavs to want to keep Love if they lose in the Finals. Obviously most Cavs fans would prefer a championship over keeping a player some see as overrated, but in the interest of this discussion, it’s worth noting that if the Cavaliers can somehow best the Warriors, they might consider letting Love leave.

But there’s also the added issue of taking care of key complementary players. J.R. Smith seems like he respects LeBron James a heck of a lot more than he did Carmelo Anthony, but will he opt into his $6.8 million player option? Or will be pursue a more lucrative deal?

Shumpert and Dellavedova have got to be loving their roles on a championship contender, but playing on a qualifying offer to save the team some money is a risky business, especially since someone is going to offer at least Shumpert a nice deal this summer.

The way Thompson and Love work together (both financially and on the court) is the biggest potential question mark, but as you can see, the hurdles don’t stop there.

Next: The Ideal Scenario

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