NBA Trade Rumors: Miami Heat Could Offer Justise Winslow And Meyers Leonard For Kevin Love
After failing to make the Eastern Conference Playoffs last season, the Miami Heat became aggressive in upgrading their roster this summer where they acquired Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade deal that sent Josh Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers. The arrival of Butler could undeniably boost the Heat’s performance on both ends of the floor, but with the emergence of numerous powerhouse teams in the league, they must be aware that Butler, alone, won’t be enough to help them accomplish their main goal in the 2019-20 NBA season.
If they are serious about dominating the Eastern Conference and contending for the NBA championship next season, the Heat should highly consider finding another superstar to pair with Jimmy Butler. According to Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, one of the potential trade targets for the Heat before the February, 2020 trade deadline is Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Miami is looking to lock up a postseason spot after falling just short a year ago, led now by Jimmy Butler and the likely emergence of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Love would certainly help the cause. A five-time All-Star power forward, Love could slide between Butler and Adebayo and become the second offensive option for a team that could struggle to score. The Heat lost both Josh Richardson and Hassan Whiteside through trade this summer, and starting point guard Goran Dragic’s scoring dipped to 13.7 points per game in 2018-19.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yzwYSxfgbc
Kevin Love would undeniably be an incredible addition to the Heat, giving them an All-Star caliber big man who can knock down shots from the three-point range. Last season, Love 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. With the years he spent with Kyrie Irving and LeBron James in Cleveland, Love won’t have a hard time building chemistry with a ball-dominant superstar like Jimmy Butler in Miami.
In the proposed trade deal by Bleacher Report, the Heat would be sending a trade package including Justise Winslow and Meyers Leonard to the Cavaliers in exchange for Kevin Love. To make the deal work under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, the Heat would need to add more players to match the Cavaliers’ outgoing salary. If the trade becomes a reality, it would not only be beneficial for the Heat, but also for the Cavaliers.
In exchange for Kevin Love, the Cavaliers would be acquiring a young and promising talent in Justise Winslow that they could add to their core of Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, and Ante Zizic. With Meyers Leonard’s contract set to expire after the 2019-20 season, the Cavaliers would open up enough salary cap space to chase quality players in the 2020 free agency.
