Atlanta Hawks: Kevin Love’s extension could help rebuild
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ long-term commitment to their All-Star forward could become a blessing in disguise for the Atlanta Hawks and their future.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Kevin Love to a four-year, $120 million extension, they reaffirmed their commitment to winning in the present, despite losing superstar LeBron James in free agency.
While many people expected the Cavs to tank following the departure of the franchise’s best player, they opted to keep Love around — instead of trading him — with the intention of building their club around him and first round pick Collin Sexton.
Sounds like a reasonable plan, right? I mean, Sexton has a lot of potential and Love averaged 23.5 points and 13.7 boards per game from 2010-14 as the No. 1 option for the Minnesota Timberwolves. What could go wrong?
There is one problem with this plan: The rest of the Cavs roster remains filled with the same useless bag of bones that James dragged to the Finals before the Golden State Warriors annihilated them in four games. And in case you were wondering, no, Kevin Love is not LeBron James.
I have no idea whether or not this move will ultimately benefit the Cavs, but I know one team that it definitely will: the Atlanta Hawks.
I think it’s safe to assume that the Cavs will be significantly worse than they were last season. After all, this team struggled through most of the 2017-18 campaign to the point where the front office completely retooled the roster in the middle of the season. Yes, they won 50 games (albeit with a 43-39 Pythagorean record) and the conference, but that spoke more to the greatness of James than anything else.
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In a weakened Eastern Conference, the Cavs making the playoffs with Love as their best player isn’t out of the question. However, does anyone expect him or Sexton to effectively carry the likes of J.R. Smith, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and a bunch of other dudes that often looked like they didn’t belong on an NBA floor last postseason? Yeah, me neither.
Even if the Cavs are good enough to become a first round chew toy for the big dogs in the East, they will probably be too good to nab a top-10 lottery pick, which would make the rebuilding Hawks the true winners in this scenario.
Thanks to the Kyle Korver trade from a couple of seasons ago, Atlanta will receive Cleveland’s 2019 first round pick if it falls outside of the top 10. That should have incentivized the Cavs to trade Love and tank, but they chose to compete instead, which serves the Hawks’ best interests.
By now, everyone knows the draft is a crapshoot. Executives are basically wagering their team’s future on the potential of 19- and 20-year-olds that have as much of a chance at becoming busts as they have at becoming superstars. Even the teams that are great at scouting and developing players get picks wrong. To hedge against this, smart teams (like the Boston Celtics) stockpile multiple picks, giving themselves a higher chance of grabbing an impact player.
The Hawks used this strategy to select Trae Young and Kevin Huerter in the draft last June. They probably won’t reach the heights that general manager Travis Schlenk thinks they will, but the team has definitely built a foundation for the next few years. Potentially having two more first round picks next year will help expedite the process.
The Hawks will probably stink again this coming season. They probably won’t be as terrible as they were last year, but no one’s gonna pencil them in for a playoff spot in 2018-19.
Next. 2018 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far. dark
However, with the Cavs making a move geared toward maintaining success in the present, they may have helped secure a brighter future for the Hawks.