It remains "highly unlikely" that Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love will be moved before the Feb. 23 trade deadline, but he could be acquired for the right price, according to cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, who reported once again that the Cavs have absolutely no interest in sending Love to the New York Knicks for forward Carmelo Anthony, one of LeBron James' best friends. Love also reiterated to reporters Friday that he doesn't anticipate going anywhere.
The Cavs would trade Kevin Love this season if the right situation presented itself.
...
So a deal for Love would have to make the Cavs better. Who they could acquire for Love and his huge contract that would actually improve the team is a small group. In fact, the Cavs would be more likely to seek multiple, gifted role players in return for Love who could play behind LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, instead of alongside them.
While the Cavs will not rule out trading Love (the only player entirely off limits, in any scenario, is James), several sources said it's highly unlikely he's moved by the Feb. 23 trade deadline.
"I expect to be here for a long time," Love said Friday, when asked if he expected a trade.
...
Multiple sources with knowledge of the Cavs' thinking are also backing far away from a potential trade for Anthony. It doesn't mean a deal for Anthony is entirely out of the question. Just mostly out.
I have a lot of thoughts on this situation, but the most important thing is to remember what Detroit Pistons president and coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters a couple of weeks ago: Nobody is untouchable, and executives talk to each other daily. For general manager David Griffin and the rest of Cleveland's front office, it would be negligent to rule Love entirely off-limits. That doesn't mean he's being shopped or the Cavs aren't committed to him; it's just how the NBA works.
From Rod Beard of the Detroit News:
"I'm not denying that discussions take place -- they take place all the time," Van Gundy said Saturday morning. "That's a lot different than considerations. Somebody says, 'Would you consider Ricky Rubio for Reggie Jackson?' That discussion might have taken place -- and clearly we didn't make that move.
"If we want to report all those, (hypothetically) we want to see if they want to go (rookie Michael) Gbinije for LeBron (James). So, that discussion took place. If I ask about a guy, that discussion took place. It's all so much (BS)."
...
"These discussions happen all the time and I love it when teams say somebody is off limits. I won't lie to my guys. There's no one in this league who is off limits," Van Gundy said. "Who's the most off-limits guy? LeBron? What if the Warriors offered Kevin Durant and Steph Curry? They wouldn't consider that? There's no deal they wouldn't consider?
"Everybody's available. I got asked a question the other day: there's a report out there that Reggie's available for the right price. Everyone in the league is available for the right price! It's just for your main guys, the right price is a lot steeper and usually doesn't come around."
...
"This stuff is crazy. I'm not going to be the guy to step up and say that none of these guys is available -- because I'm not lying to anybody," Van Gundy said. "Was the discussion had? I don't know. Maybe it was. I wouldn't doubt it. I know people are interested in him.
"People are interested in Andre (Drummond). I know we've had a lot of discussions on those guys -- and really, all of our top seven or eight guys. There's been people who called about Boban (Marjanovic) and about (Aron) Baynes. There's all kinds of discussions. I'll give you a blanket 'yes' that all those discussions have taken place."
Love is either Cleveland's second- or third-best player, depending on how you measure his value compared to Kyrie Irving's. He is having by far his best season since joining the team in 2014-15, and he has never played a bigger role in the Cavs' offense. Despite a rough NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors last June, which included a concussion and a game where he only played 12 minutes, he had 14 rebounds and made the biggest defensive play of the season in Cleveland's Game 7 victory. There are plenty of reasons for the front office to like him, not the least of which is the fact he's one of the few players in NBA history who are among the league's elite in both rebounding and 3-point shooting.
None of this, however, means that Love has to be untouchable. It just means that, if an opposing team calls, the Cavs should ask for a whole lot in return for him.
The most interesting part of the cleveland.com story is that the team is reportedly more likely to ask for a package of multiple high-level role players as compensation for Love, not necessarily another star. This might sound counterintuitive in a star-driven league, but there's some logic here. Love's main weakness is that he has trouble staying on the floor against the Warriors because of his lack of defensive versatility. James has complained about Cleveland being too top-heavy lately, and it could surely use some more athleticism on the wing and in the front court in addition to the extra play-making that the franchise player desires.
Let's say the Cavaliers were presented a trade package for Love that included a two-way backup point guard, a top-shelf 3-and-D wing who can shift to the 4 if necessary, plus a proven rim protector. Would Griffin automatically say no to that because he's loyal to Love after last year's championship? No. His job is to improve the team. It's unclear, though, if there's a team out there -- or even a combination of them -- that is not only able, but willing to offer the Cavs a deal like that. For that reason, the safe bet is that Love will stay where he is for the foreseeable future.
