NBA Trade Rumors: Cavaliers Could Swap Kevin Love For D’Angelo Russell, ‘CBS Sports’ Suggests
The Golden State Warriors may have prevented losing Kevin Durant as an unrestricted free agent without getting anything in return, but the player they acquired from the Brooklyn Nets doesn’t seem to be a good fit on their roster. D’Angelo Russell is expected to fill the hole Durant left on the offensive end of the floor and temporarily serve as Stephen Curry’s backcourt partner in the 2019-20 NBA season. However, once Klay Thompson is 100 percent healed and immediately regains his All-Star form, the Warriors may find themselves using an expensive commodity like Russell as their sixth man.
As of now, most people believe that the Warriors are better off trading D’Angelo Russell for a player who could complement Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. In his recent article, Brad Botkin of CBS Sports suggested that the Warriors could explore trading Russell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for All-Star power forward Kevin Love before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline.
“Beyond that, after the shock of the D’Angelo Russell deal to Golden State wore off, I started thinking about potential deals for Russell, and for the Warriors, Love makes a lot of sense. The team is obviously ready to win now and Love slots wonderfully as a big stretch four next to Draymond Green in a new version of the Death Lineup. Russell is a young All-Star, and he’s set to make nearly the same amount as Love, but the Cavs already have their backcourt in place.”
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? photos: https://t.co/sntlQzBeo1 pic.twitter.com/2yjkuIIDDE— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) September 7, 2019
Kevin Love would undeniably be a better fit to the Warriors than D’Angelo Russell, giving them an All-Star caliber big man who can knock down shots from beyond the arc. Last season, the 31-year-old center/power forward averaged 17.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. What makes Love a more intriguing addition to the Warriors is his ability to efficiently play alongside other NBA superstars.
With the three years he spent with Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, Kevin Love won’t definitely mind accepting a lesser role on the offensive end of the floor in Golden State. Also, pairing Love with Draymond Green would help the Warriors hide his weakness on the defensive end of the floor.
Meanwhile, at 23, D’Angelo Russell would be a great fit to the Cavaliers’ rebuilding plans. However, as Botkin noted, the Cavaliers already have young guards like Darius Garland and Collin Sexton on their roster. If the Cavaliers won’t show any interest in trading Kevin Love for Russell, a previous Inquisitr article suggested that the Warriors could offer the All-Star point guard to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Aaron Gordon and Mo Bamba.
