NBA Trade Rumors: Cavaliers making Kevin Love available?
By John Buhler
Kevin Love still has three seasons left on his Cleveland Cavaliers contract, is general manager David Griffin willing to trade Love this season?
While the Cleveland Cavaliers have been outspoken about them holding on to power forward Kevin Love for weeks heading into the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline, general manager David Griffin did tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst a few weeks ago “that there’s no such thing as untouchables.”
With the NBA Trade Deadline rapidly approaching, one team does have tremendous interest in acquiring Love from the Cavaliers: the Boston Celtics. Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has long coveted the stretch four and has many interesting trade pieces to offer the Cavaliers in exchange for Love.
The problem lies in that the Cavaliers are going to want “a star in return” for Love, something that the Celtics don’t exactly have. While point guard Isaiah Thomas did make the 2016 Eastern Conference All-Star team, the Celtics have been a successful team the last two years under head coach Brad Stevens by being a team with an incredibly high floor, but low ceiling.
Essentially, it is going to take more than a series of promising assets and draft picks for the Cavaliers to part ways with Love in a deal with the Celtics. Apparently Griffin doesn’t want anything on Ainge’s team full of role players.
What seems to complicate this potential deal with the Celtics more than anything is that Love has three guaranteed years left on his deal with the Cavaliers. Sure, the Celtics could find a way to take on his salary, but too may not wish to have the hinder their flexibility entering free agency this summer.
It may make more sense for these trade discussions between the Cavaliers and the Celtics involving Love to quiet down until the offseason. That way both organizations will know where they stand not only in the Eastern Conference, but how far away they are from winning an NBA Finals.
Cleveland enters the second half in first place in the East as expected, while Boston has ascended to third in the conference around Stevens’ young corps.