Kevin Love is out of their rotation, but can the Cleveland Cavaliers get anything for him at the trade deadline?
In a different era for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kevin Love was brought in to round out what would hopefully be a title contender around the returning LeBron James. In 2016, the Cavaliers indeed won that title.
James of course left for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. Over those intervening years in Cleveland, Love has become less and less of a contributor as injuries have played a big role in his diminished role.
Love is averaging a career-low 8.5 points per game and he’s shooting just 38.9 percent from the floor (35.4 percent from 3-point range) this season, over 41 games. He has not played since Jan. 24. After three missed games where he was dealing with a thumb injury, he has been a DNP-Coach’s Decision the last three games now.
According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Love has been removed from the Cavaliers’ rotation.
With the trade deadline coming on Thursday, it’s fair to wonder if Love is being shopped.
Which begs the question…
Can the Cavaliers get anything useful for Kevin Love before the trade deadline?
Love is, finally really, in the last year of his contract and he’s making $28.9 million this season. That expiring contract may appeal to some other teams in terms of cap relief come the offseason, and in smaller samples, he has shown he can still be a useful player.
Love scored in double figures in five of seven games in late December. He also averaged 8.4 rebounds per game, while shooting nearly 46 percent from the floor and 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, over that stretch.
Last season, Love pushed himself into the Sixth Man of the Year conversation with a nice campaign (13.6 points per game, 39.2 percent from 3-point range). Most importantly, given his recent run of durability issues, he played in 74 games.
Over the last couple of seasons, Love has even made a bit of a contribution on the defensive end. He is third in the league in charges drawn this season (17), and last year he finished tied for the league lead in charges drawn.
The Cavaliers need help on the wing and their bench, among the lowest-scoring in the NBA, could use an injection of offense. It feels unlikely Love would bring back anything notable on those fronts, but simply getting someone of those ilks who would be in J.B. Bickerstaff’s regular rotation might be enough.