The Cavaliers Reportedly Don’t Want To Trade Kevin Love Whether LeBron Stays Or Not

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The Cavaliers face a number of interesting scenarios that could play out this summer, all of which depend on what LeBron James decides to do in free agency.

The problem for Cleveland is they have to make one of their biggest decisions — what to do with the No. 8 pick — before LeBron makes his, which puts them in a precarious position. Many have felt the Cavs would try to deal the eighth pick to land veteran help to make their roster look more desirable to James, who wants to continue competing for championships. However, the eighth pick alone can’t get them a player (for salary cap reasons), and the only contract that can match up with a significant star-caliber player and not completely tank the value of that pick is Kevin Love.

So, the Cavs basically have to determine whether they can get a player worthy of a package of Love and the eighth pick that would actually make them significantly better. That package doesn’t seem like it’s enough to land Kawhi Leonard, and outside of Leonard there isn’t a star on the trade market that makes a ton of sense in a trade (although Kemba Walker has been floated as a possibility).

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Cavs have decided they’d rather keep Love than trade him, no matter what happens with LeBron, which would indicate that going into draft night, if the eighth pick gets moved, it will be alongside someone else — or they’ll just keep it.

The Cavaliers are not actively shopping All-Star forward Kevin Love heading into Thursday’s NBA draft, multiple sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Furthermore, regardless of what decision LeBron James makes about his future in Cleveland, the Cavs have interest in keeping Love next season, sources said.

This could obviously be a smokescreen, and by the end of tomorrow night Love and the eighth pick will be somewhere else other than Cleveland, but the Cavs have reason to keep Love. Being that he signed his deal under the last CBA, he’s a pretty cost-effective star on a roster that really lacks much in the way of flexibility. He has a player option for 2019-20, and he figures to be very movable at the trade deadline should they fail to get LeBron to return and want to reset going into next summer, but right now there’s not a reason to move him without a guarantee of landing a legit superstar to replace him.

The Cavs might have to get creative to land a quality veteran without using Love, but it isn’t impossible. The eighth pick, depending on who is available, could still have a significant value, and if they’re willing to take on some longer-term money from a team like Charlotte, they could make a reasonably interesting offer with the eighth pick, e.g. George Hill or J.R. Smith (both of whom have non-guaranteed deals after next year) and someone else. It’s not a great package, but if a team is really looking to hit the reset button and get out from a longer deal, that’s an offer that can, at the least, cause someone to consider it.

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