2014 NBA Draft Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers ‘open for business’
When the Cleveland Cavaliers landed the number one overall pick in Tuesday night’s 2014 NBA Draft Lottery, moving up from the ninth-overall selection, they were as surprised as anyone.
After all, the Cavaliers were in “win-now” mode last season, signing center Andrew Bynum before the season and later trading for small forward Luol Deng and center Spencer Hawes. That’s why the Cavaliers are seemingly open to trading the pick.
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Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports the Cavaliers are “open for business.”
"The Cavaliers are open for business. They are open to trading the top overall pick, but they want a bona fide All-star in return. Minnesota big man Kevin Love has been linked to the Cavs and he is absolutely a player the Cavs would move the top pick to obtain. The Cavs would require Love to opt-in to the final contract year of his deal as part of a transaction. It’s unclear if Minnesota or Love are open to that kind of deal.The Cavs were not expecting a pick this high in the draft and have started to work through the process including scheduling visits and workouts with the top five or six guys. Early reports peg the Cavs as having eyes for former Kansas stars Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins."
Of course, the problem with Love is that he does not have to re-up with the Cavaliers it dealt there, meaning it is probably safer to simply make the pick.