The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering a post-LeBron reality for the second time in five years, watching their homegrown superstar bounce for sunny beaches yet again, this time heading to L.A. to play for the Lakers.
With LeBron leaving, it’s officially time for the Cavs to turn the page and enter a rebuilding phase, but they don’t seem too overly eager to tear it down immediately and start over from scratch. They’ll play Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman a good bit this season, along with Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance, and one would expect them to re-sign Rodney Hood at some point this summer to see how he performs without the pressures of being next to LeBron. Other than that, though, there’s not much in the way of youth, particularly in the frontcourt.
Kevin Love is, quite clearly, the Cavs’ best player, but most have expected Cleveland to explore dealing him because he’s also their best trade chip moving forward to get more assets, which they desperately need. The Cavs, by all reports, aren’t actively shopping their All-Star, but are listening to offers for him, as they should.
However, it doesn’t sound likely that they will deal him this offseason, as Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto cited a conversation with an NBA executive who said the Cavs need to be “blown away” by an offer to consider shipping him out.
I talked to a well-known NBA executive about what the Cavs will do with their All-Star forward now that LeBron James has signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Unless they get blown away by an offer, I think they’ll open the season with Love,” said the executive.
This is what the Cavs should do. Love will probably be at his most valuable at the trade deadline — something the executive pointed out to Pluto. He’s likely an expiring deal, given that next year he has a player option north of $25 million, and there are going to be contenders that could definitely use his skills. It’s also possible the Cavs want to keep Love beyond this season and try to work on an extension, as they have almost nothing on the books past 2020 and Love is the kind of veteran who would be good to have a young team learn from, provided he wants to stay in Cleveland.
Those discussions between Love and the Cavs about his plans for the future will play a role in whether he’s dealt, as it would be foolish of the Cavs to let him hit free agency and walk for nothing if he indicates he’s not trying to be part of a rebuilding process. As for offers for Love, it’s hard right now to pinpoint a team that has a need for him and has the young players and future assets the Cavs will want in a deal.
In the East, Milwaukee could be a good fit given they have a need for floor spacing out of the frontcourt and would like to upgrade the roster to chase down the Celtics who are now the favorites. The Pacers also have similar needs and would make some sense to get involved in Love talks as well. My favorite Love trade is just a redux of the one that sent Love to Cleveland in the first place, with the Cavs bringing back Andrew Wiggins — this will not happen unless the Cavs absolutely love Wiggins because that contract is a lot to take on.
We’ll see who gets in the mix for Love this summer, but it seems increasingly likely the real chatter around him will pick up closer to the deadline.
