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A Guide To The Deadline: Buying Or Selling The Biggest NBA Trade Rumors

By Jon Shames

Feb 12, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) works against New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Sacramento Kings defeat the New York Knicks 106-101 in OT. Mandatory Credit: Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 12, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) works against New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Sacramento Kings defeat the New York Knicks 106-101 in OT. Mandatory Credit: Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) walks off the court with an apparent left shoulder injury in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) walks off the court with an apparent left shoulder injury in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Kevin Love – Cleveland Cavaliers

It was a scary moment for Cleveland Cavaliers fans when Kevin Love exited Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers with an injury to the same shoulder that kept him sidelined for last year’s postseason.

Luckily, it appears that Love is going to be okay. That’s great news for Cleveland, because — despite the countless rumors involving the star forward over the past two years — he is integral to Cleveland’s championship mission.

Related Story: NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Landing Spots For Kevin Love

Love still hasn’t quite clicked with the Cavs yet, but the team signed him to a fresh five-year, $110 million deal last summer, indicative of the front office’s belief in Love’s abilities. Cavaliers general manager David Griffin was quick to defend Love a couple of weeks ago on ESPN Radio, and he effectively silenced trade speculators in the process:

"“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,” Griffin said in an interview on ESPN 850 AM in Cleveland. “We’ve never once put together an offer involving Kevin, nor have we taken a call on an offer for Kevin.”"

While the Cleveland locker room has been incredibly opaque and unpredictable this year, all signs point to the Cavaliers hanging on to Love. Considering the team gave up Andrew Wiggins in the deal to acquire Love, abandoning the prospect of a Love-LeBron pairing this early would be premature and leave a sour taste in the mouths of Cleveland-faithful.

Even after the David Blatt firing, Love still hasn’t found his groove with Cleveland. There’s a good chance, in fact, that he won’t this season at all. Still, at least until Cleveland management is able to see the Cavs make a postseason run with Love in the lineup, don’t expect the bearded forward to go anywhere.

Verdict: Sell

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