Cleveland Cavaliers: Pros and cons of trading Kevin Love

What to do with Kevin Love

Keep him, for now. A plethora of teams are under serious cap constraints and may not be able to absorb the big man’s contract. Pinpointing the right fit for a deal may be challenging. Love’s dead cap money also decreases from about $47 million this year to $25 million next season.

Love is also coming off four straight seasons of playing second (or third) fiddle to James and it stands to reason he will post better numbers with more touches next season. Of course, he is almost 30 and with an extensive injury history. Barring injury though, it’s tough to imagine him not posting better stats.

No, he’s not drinking from the fountain of youth, and maybe teams will worry about the possibility of dealing important pieces for a guy who may leave town after one campaign.

Still, just hold on to him a little longer. See if his value blooms, even slightly, in time for the trade deadline. Right now Love’s stock is just a smidgen low. That probably won’t be the case a few months into the season.

Regardless of what the Cavs do now, Love will likely not be in Cleveland by Summer League next year.

Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

We’ve been predicting Love’s departure for at least a couple seasons, but this time feels different.