Should the Cleveland Cavaliers just decide to keep Kevin Love, as all the NBA trade rumors keep getting more and more traction? The potential Cavs trade of Love this season would cause the dominoes to fall in various directions, changing the NBA as we all know it.
Let’s face it, the Cavs need to improve their roster as the NBA trade deadline nears, but is trading Love the right decision? LeBron James has denied claims he wants a trade for Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks for Love to happen, according to a report about the trade by the New York Daily News.
“In fact, LeBron called it ‘trash’ while Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said ‘Kevin (Love) should be happy that teams want him, but he’s not going anywhere.’”
Let’s compare the 2016-17 NBA seasons of Anthony and Love:
• Carmelo Anthony (small forward): 54 games, 33.9 minutes per game, 23.2 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, and 2.9 assists per game.
• Kevin Love (power forward): 45 games, 31.8 minutes per game, 20.1 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per game.
In four games played in February, Love is averaging 35.8 minutes, 22.8 points, and 12.5 rebounds per game, and he’s playing better than his season averages.
Carmelo Anthony on Knicks: “It’s just kind of a cloud over our heads right now” https://t.co/57jYeT7Zcz pic.twitter.com/C5VEQFeAkX
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 11, 2017
In comparison of the two players involved in a possible Cavs trade, Cleveland would be losing five rebounds per game, but gaining a player who has played in more games this season and has better scoring and assist averages this season.
The Cavs making a trade for Anthony might make James happy, but even after all of that, the question still remains: Is it the right decision for the Cavs to make this far into the season?
The longer the season goes, the less likely a Cavs trade for Anthony will happen, which at this point of the NBA calendar might just be best for the rest of this season if the trade were to involve Love. Adding Anthony would make the Cavs a very solid team, but does having Love in the playoffs make them better?
The Cavs had a losing record in January, but thus far in February, amidst all the trade rumors, the Cavs have won five of their six games played, with the lone loss coming to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The next “big tests” for the Cavs will be the Indiana Pacers on Feb. 15, the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 25, and the Boston Celtics on March 1.
By the time the Cavs have a game with the current second-place Celtics, the NBA trade deadline will have passed, and a trade decision on Love will have been made.
. @KevinLove has posted double-doubles in 4 straight games.
5 Keys to #CavsNuggets : https://t.co/oZLkr4QPFH pic.twitter.com/E5Kjh7K6uj
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 11, 2017
With all of the above information, and the knowledge of the friendship of Anthony and LeBron James, and the sometimes contested relationship with Love and the Cavs, the best decision for the defending NBA champions and all involved is to keep what has seemed to work this month, but add depth to the rest of the roster.
The Cavs have proven before that when the “Big Three” of James, Love, and Kyrie Irving are all on the court at the same time, and at the top of their games, they are a very dangerous team, as that was showcased last season during the NBA Finals.
Have the Cavs played up to the level of last season? No. Should they make a trade for Anthony involving Love? Again, the answer should be no, but with the Cavs this season, nothing has proven to be easy. That makes any decision on Love a complete unknown until the NBA trade deadline comes and goes, but it won’t be easy either way the Cavs decide to go, and that is the only trade fact we really know.
[Featured Image by Tony Dejak/AP Images]