It’s not the on-the-court production this season that has taken the air out of the Kevin Love trade market. He’s averaging 16.5 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, shooting 37.5 percent from three, and played quality minutes for the Cavaliers. He could help a lot of teams.
Rather, it’s the three-plus years remaining on his four-year, $120 million contract that suffocates trade talks. That’s a lot of money and years for an aging former All-Star player who is productive but also has a lengthy injury history. Some teams have told the Cavaliers they would want a sweetener — meaning Cleveland would need to add a future first-round pick — to take on that Love contract.
The New York Times’ Marc Stein injected a little optimism into the conversation on New Year’s Eve.
2020 is here and the race is on: 36 days until the NBA trade deadline. Heard some fresh optimism on the final day of 2019 that Cleveland may just find a workable Kevin Love deal before the buzzer ...
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 1, 2020
Love wants to be traded to a contender, ideally Portland (no, Portland is not a contender, even with Love, but these are the reports out there).
It’s tough to see a Love trade coming together at the deadline with that contract, but it only takes one — just one GM/POBO who sees Love as the player that fits a need and pushes his team over the top. Maybe someone out there is talking themselves (and their owner) into Love and getting serious about making this move. I’ll believe it when I see it.