Cleveland Cavaliers: Pros and cons of trading Kevin Love
By Ryan Piers
It’s been a busy offseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now the front office has to decide what to do about All-Star big man Kevin Love.
When Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman sat down with his staff following the NBA Finals embarrassment, he probably prepared them for a busy summer. To call it a hectic offseason would be a massive understatement.
Within a couple weeks, the Cavaliers lost its franchise cornerstone — only arguably the greatest basketball player ever — and drafted its foundation for the future. That’s like being divorced by a supermodel and immediately remarrying the cute, broke bartender down the street. This was a franchise-altering summer for Cleveland. Hopefully Collin Sexton turns into a rebound superstar.
Still, a major piece clings from the previous relationship. Cleveland may have lost the house in the divorce, but it kept the lovable family pet. Kevin Love, the member of the Big 3 everyone thought would be traded first, is the last one remaining.
Love played well last year. He earned his second straight All-Star appearance while averaging 17.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He’s good. He’s always been good and is a valuable rebuilding or trade piece.
It depends on which route the Cavs want to go. If they’re okay with being mediocre, then maybe they keep Love. If they want to blow the franchise’s post-LeBron roster up, then you probably deal the big man.
Here are the pros of keeping Love, the cons and what Cleveland should ultimately do.