Cleveland Cavaliers: Analyzing Kevin Love’s future with the team

The Cleveland Cavaliers are building for the future. Where does their lone All-Star, Kevin Love, fit with the team’s new direction?

It’s been nearly a full year since LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers and officially ended an era for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team that was fresh off of four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals is now hoping for the No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2019 NBA Draft. With Kevin Love as their only remaining star, what will the Cavaliers choose to do with him this summer?

It’s safe to say that things have changed drastically since the team held up the 2016 championship trophy. A 19-63 record in the regular season helped Cleveland secure one of the three worst win percentages in the league.

While the team was dropping game after game, Kevin Love was watching from the sideline for much of the season. An early foot injury held him out for multiple months as the team watched the likes of Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman develop their games through an endless struggle.

The Cavaliers have made it through what should be the darkest season of their rebuild and are looking at the light near the end of the tunnel. The team saw notable improvements from Sexton and Osman, and will have the chance to draft a potential superstar in a few months.

As the team moves forward in their rebuilding process, the questions around Love continue to swirl. Is he capable of leading this team anywhere notable? Maybe not. However, this doesn’t mean he is useless to the team.

Let’s say the Cavaliers win the lottery and select Zion Williamson No. 1 overall. Well, wouldn’t Love be the perfect stretch-5 to match with Williamson? On paper, Love would spread the floor for Zion and allow him to do what he does best in the paint.

In contrast, perhaps the Cavaliers would be better off trading Love and racking up more draft picks. The team could potentially even bring in another star player who’s younger and fits the new timeline better. For example, the Cavaliers might be able to work out a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and bring C.J. McCollum back to Ohio.

Of course, it will take a bit of negotiating to get any deal done with Love. His contract is a bit pricey for a star player who is constantly injured. Depending on who you ask, Love’s value on the trading block can vary drastically.

This season, Love averaged 17.0 points and 10.9 rebounds per game in the 22 games that he did play in. His best stretch of the season came in early March when he averaged 20.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game on 46.0 percent shooting from the 3-point line over the course of eight games.

It’s clear that Love can still be an impactful player. His talent as a stretch-big that can clean up the glass and shoot the deep ball is very valuable in today’s NBA. The biggest problems for Love are his expensive contract and nagging health issues.

The Cavaliers will have a lot of thinking to do when deciding Love’s future with the team. Unless the front office can negotiate a deal for another All-Star or first round draft pick, the Cavs might be better off leaving Love on the roster and using him as a mentor to their young core.