NBA Rumors: 5 replacements for Kevin Love in Cleveland

Fantastic three-point threat in shooting guard J.J. Redick has become one of the better all-around two-guards in the NBA since arriving with the Los Angeles Clippers three summers ago. He’s good enough to start on a championship caliber team and could conceivably be the third best player on a title-contending team.

The former collegiate standout at Duke is coming off his best season as a professional, as Redick nearly made the Western Conference All-Star Team for the first time in his 10-year NBA career. While injuries derailed a very good 2015-16 Clippers team, Redick might have been the team’s most reliable player this past season. He easily had a better season than Love did in Cleveland.

There are a few reasons that Redick would make a great third wheel to James and Irving in Cleveland over Love. Redick doesn’t need the ball to be effective, as he has built a great career as a catch-and-shoot perimeter player. He’s become a solid defensive player of the years thanks to great attentiveness and defensive coaching from Stan Van Gundy and Doc Rivers.

With Redick, the Cavaliers get their jump shooter without Love’s defensive liabilities. Redick would be a significantly better player out on the wing for Cleveland than Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith, or Iman Shumpert. Redick would cost as much as Love and that would have allowed Griffin to look for a great bench scorer in some one like Tobias Harris or Thaddeus Young to push Cleveland over the top.

Next: 4. Gordon Hayward.