The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be looking to move a player or two in a trade during the NBA offseason. That much is already known as the team enters full-scale rebuild mode. Recent Cavs rumors suggest that one big-name player might have to stay with the team.
Cavs rumors: No trade market for All-Star Kevin Love
“I don’t think there’s any market for him at all. I had people openly scoff at me last year when I was bringing up Kevin Love trades,” John Hollinger of The Athletic reported recently.
Rumors have surrounded a Love trade from the Cavs for some time now. Prior to the 2019-20 NBA season being suspended back in March, said rumors included a rift between the NBA champion and his Cavs.
However, there’s a ton of logistical issues here. It starts with Love’s salary.
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Cavs rumors: Kevin Love contract
Love, 32, is playing under a four-year, $120.4 million contract he signed with the Cavs back in July of 2018. The cap hits moving forward are not great.
- 2020-21: $31.26 million
- 2021-22: $32.26 million
- 2022-23: $28.94 million
Do you really think any team wants to take on a combined guaranteed amount of $92-plus million over the next three seasons? That’s obviously a major hiccup as it relates to a potential Love trade.
In reality, the Cavs would likely have to take on bad contracts in return while moving either a valuable draft pick or young star Collin Sexton in any hypothetical Love trade.
Related: Trades that could shake up 2020 NBA Draft
In addition to his high salary, Love has dealt with injuries over the past few years. Love missed nine games this past season to injury and played in only 22 games during the 2018-19 campaign.
Despite this, the Cavs view Love as an asset. That’s primarily because he’s still productive when on the court. Last season saw the five-time All-Star averaged 17.6 points and 9.8 rebounds while shooting 37% from three-point range. That type of stretch-four is important in today’s NBA. It will also lead to rumors regarding a potential trade over the next few months.
Cavs rumors: How might a Kevin Love trade look?
There’s a few scenarios that could work out. Would the Rockets be willing to accept Love for a package that includes Eric Gordon and Robert Covington? If that were to happen, the Cavs would likely have to throw in some draft capital to make it work.
In a dump of high-priced veterans, rumors could pick up regarding the Cavs trading Kevin Love to the Detroit Pistons for Blake Griffin. Rumors persist that Detroit has Griffin on the block. It remains to be seen which team would have to throw in draft capital. However, the Pistons’ first-round pick (seventh overall) could be in play.
Related: 2020 NBA Mock Draft
Those are just two of numerous examples should rumors that Love is not a tradable asset prove to be false. For now, it might very well be a waiting game for the Cavs.
They also have more-pressing concerns with the 2020 NBA Draft slated to start here soon. What is Cleveland looking to do with the fifth pick? Could Sexton be on the move? These rumors will dwarf any talk surrounding Love until the draft concludes.