Kevin Love rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers trade contingent on signing LeBron James

Apr 4, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love (42) is pressured by Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Minnesota Timberwolves won in 2 overtimes 122-121. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love (42) is pressured by Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Minnesota Timberwolves won in 2 overtimes 122-121. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Since losing LeBron James to the Miami Heat in 2010, the Cavaliers have seen the fortunes begin to turn around.

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They have since had three number one overall picks (They selected point guard Kyrie Irving, who recently agreed to a max extension with the Cavaliers in 2011, forward Anthony Bennett in 2013 and used the top-overall selection on swingman Andrew Wiggins just last month) and two fourth-overall picks (They took big man Tristan Thompson in 2011 and guard Dion Waiters in 2012).

Now, the Cavaliers may complete their turnaround by bringing James back to Cleveland. He is reportedly going to choose between the Heat and Cavaliers. Due to all of the young talent and cap space (the Cavaliers gave up a future first round pick to deal point guard Jarrett Jack and swingman Sergey Karasev in order to afford to sign James to a max contract), the Cavaliers may actually be James’ best option.

On Wednesday, it was reported the Cavaliers were in pursuit of another superstar, Minnesota Timberwolves’ power forward Kevin Love. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo, any potential Love-to-Cleveland deal is contingent on the signing of James.

As for what the Cavaliers would give up, the Timberwolves would probably start the discussion by asking for Wiggins. Wiggins is quite the talent, but a team with James, Love and Irving would be the immediate favorite to win the Eastern Conference and quite possibly would be the odds on favorite to the NBA title.

James averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 56.7% from the field, 37.9% from three and 75.0% from the charity stripe last season. Love averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game last season while shooting 45.7% from the field, 37.6% from three and 82.1% from the charity stripe.