Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

[LordJeffBuck]

So you don't think the Cavs can find a better fit than Love via a trade this offseason?
Honestly just wondering: as a casual NBA fan I'm among those just not seeing it with him getting starter's minutes for a hopeful contender.

Let's assume that Love is the misfit and not, for example, Kyrie Irving. It's really difficult to say what the Cavs could get for Love because (a) the potential suitors will be limited; (b) those suitors might not have assets that the Cavs want; (c) the salary swap might not work out; and (d) some of players will be free agents, necessitating a sign-and-trade.

According to ESPN's "NBA Trade Machine", the Kevin Love to Boston for Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder trade (proposed above) just doesn't work because Love's contract is $19.7 million per year and Avery's and Crowder's combined contracts are only $14.5 million per year. Boston would have to add in, say, Jonas Jerebko to make the salaries match. Would Boston trade three core players for Love? Would the Cavs really want three middle-of-the-road players from Boston in return? And would those guys even fit with the Cavs (Bradley is a scoring PG, and Crowder plays LeBron's position).

A really interesting trade possibility would be to ship Kyrie Irving to the Clippers in return for Chris Paul. The Cavs would have to add in a player like Mozgov (a free agent) to make the numbers work. The Clippers would be getting one of the best young players in the league, and the Cavs would be getting an established point guard who is great at distributing the basketball. As a bonus, Paul is a close friend of LeBron, and Kevin Love's father.

Of the new "soft" era, maybe. Where little cupcakes like Stephanie Curry can get away with reach in fouls on defense, and draw a foul on every offensive possession. Their record, and playoff dominance is a product of a diluted basketball product.

I agree with you. This GSW team would have a difficult time against some of those great teams form the 80s and 90s. But in this era, they are nearly unstoppable.

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

Let's assume that Love is the misfit and not, for example, Kyrie Irving. It's really difficult to say what the Cavs could get for Love because (a) the potential suitors will be limited; (b) those suitors might not have assets that the Cavs want; (c) the salary swap might not work out; and (d) some of players will be free agents, necessitating a sign-and-trade.

According to ESPN's "NBA Trade Machine", the Kevin Love to Boston for Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder trade (proposed above) just doesn't work because Love's contract is $19.7 million per year and Avery's and Crowder's combined contracts are only $14.5 million per year. Boston would have to add in, say, Jonas Jerebko to make the salaries match. Would Boston trade three core players for Love? Would the Cavs really want three middle-of-the-road players from Boston in return? And would those guys even fit with the Cavs (Bradley is a scoring PG, and Crowder plays LeBron's position).

A really interesting trade possibility would be to ship Kyrie Irving to the Clippers in return for Chris Paul. The Cavs would have to add in a player like Mozgov (a free agent) to make the numbers work. The Clippers would be getting one of the best young players in the league, and the Cavs would be getting an established point guard who is great at distributing the basketball. As a bonus, Paul is a close friend of LeBron, and Kevin Love's father.


I agree with you. This GSW team would have a difficult time against some of those great teams form the 80s and 90s. But in this era, they are nearly unstoppable.

Honest question on your Chris Paul trade. What good does another distributor do this team? Lebron is already a distribute first score later player, Paul adds yet another, but if you don't have someone to shoot and knock it down then I fail to see how that improves the team.

 

[TooTall]

Let's assume that Love is the misfit and not, for example, Kyrie Irving. It's really difficult to say what the Cavs could get for Love because (a) the potential suitors will be limited; (b) those suitors might not have assets that the Cavs want; (c) the salary swap might not work out; and (d) some of players will be free agents, necessitating a sign-and-trade.

According to ESPN's "NBA Trade Machine", the Kevin Love to Boston for Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder trade (proposed above) just doesn't work because Love's contract is $19.7 million per year and Avery's and Crowder's combined contracts are only $14.5 million per year. Boston would have to add in, say, Jonas Jerebko to make the salaries match. Would Boston trade three core players for Love? Would the Cavs really want three middle-of-the-road players from Boston in return? And would those guys even fit with the Cavs (Bradley is a scoring PG, and Crowder plays LeBron's position).

A really interesting trade possibility would be to ship Kyrie Irving to the Clippers in return for Chris Paul. The Cavs would have to add in a player like Mozgov (a free agent) to make the numbers work. The Clippers would be getting one of the best young players in the league, and the Cavs would be getting an established point guard who is great at distributing the basketball. As a bonus, Paul is a close friend of LeBron, and Kevin Love's father.


I agree with you. This GSW team would have a difficult time against some of those great teams form the 80s and 90s. But in this era, they are nearly unstoppable.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Bucklion]

Let's assume that Love is the misfit and not, for example, Kyrie Irving. It's really difficult to say what the Cavs could get for Love because (a) the potential suitors will be limited; (b) those suitors might not have assets that the Cavs want; (c) the salary swap might not work out; and (d) some of players will be free agents, necessitating a sign-and-trade.

According to ESPN's "NBA Trade Machine", the Kevin Love to Boston for Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder trade (proposed above) just doesn't work because Love's contract is $19.7 million per year and Avery's and Crowder's combined contracts are only $14.5 million per year. Boston would have to add in, say, Jonas Jerebko to make the salaries match. Would Boston trade three core players for Love? Would the Cavs really want three middle-of-the-road players from Boston in return? And would those guys even fit with the Cavs (Bradley is a scoring PG, and Crowder plays LeBron's position).

A really interesting trade possibility would be to ship Kyrie Irving to the Clippers in return for Chris Paul. The Cavs would have to add in a player like Mozgov (a free agent) to make the numbers work. The Clippers would be getting one of the best young players in the league, and the Cavs would be getting an established point guard who is great at distributing the basketball. As a bonus, Paul is a close friend of LeBron, and Kevin Love's father.


I agree with you. This GSW team would have a difficult time against some of those great teams form the 80s and 90s. But in this era, they are nearly unstoppable.

One thing I'll add is that there is always the possibility of a 3 team trade...it seems like the complicated rules have made more of those than 2 team trades. So it's possible that anyone can be moved in terms of contracts if they can find a third partner.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Honest question on your Chris Paul trade. What good does another distributor do this team? Lebron is already a distribute first score later player, Paul adds yet another, but if you don't have someone to shoot and knock it down then I fail to see how that improves the team.

Having a distributor at the point allows LeBron to set up down on the box, where he is still deadly either as a scorer or a distributor. His outside shot is deserting him and he sometimes has difficulty handling the ball and getting into the offense. He's not a point guard, but he often has to take that role because Irving won't distribute the ball.

Of course, LeBron would have to agree to play down low, which is something he has been reluctant to do so far.

 

[BuckeyeMafia]

Let's assume that Love is the misfit and not, for example, Kyrie Irving. It's really difficult to say what the Cavs could get for Love because (a) the potential suitors will be limited; (b) those suitors might not have assets that the Cavs want; (c) the salary swap might not work out; and (d) some of players will be free agents, necessitating a sign-and-trade.

According to ESPN's "NBA Trade Machine", the Kevin Love to Boston for Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder trade (proposed above) just doesn't work because Love's contract is $19.7 million per year and Avery's and Crowder's combined contracts are only $14.5 million per year. Boston would have to add in, say, Jonas Jerebko to make the salaries match. Would Boston trade three core players for Love? Would the Cavs really want three middle-of-the-road players from Boston in return? And would those guys even fit with the Cavs (Bradley is a scoring PG, and Crowder plays LeBron's position).

A really interesting trade possibility would be to ship Kyrie Irving to the Clippers in return for Chris Paul. The Cavs would have to add in a player like Mozgov (a free agent) to make the numbers work. The Clippers would be getting one of the best young players in the league, and the Cavs would be getting an established point guard who is great at distributing the basketball. As a bonus, Paul is a close friend of LeBron, and Kevin Love's father.

Bradley is a defense-first PG/SG, and also a decent 3-point shooter. The main attraction of the Crowder/Bradley trade is Crowder. With the way the NBA is going, and the way LeBron is aging, it's time for LeBron to shift to the 4. And Boston needs a star. They won't find one with the 3rd draft pick, and a pile of spare parts doesn't win titles in this league. If the Cavs have Irving and LeBron, a number of excellent role players could be the difference between them and Golden State. Curry and Thompson are great, but I think the bench is what really separates the Warriors.

I don't disagree with the idea of bringing in Chris Paul, but I'm not sure I want to get a 31-year-old injury-prone point guard in his 11th year. Kyrie is injury-prone, but he's also a lot younger. When LeBron retires in the next 4-7 years, we'll want someone to take over. Paul won't be around that long.

Alternatively, there's McCollum for Love, which the Trade Machine accepts.

 

[buckeyesin07]

You need to get over your crush on Andrew Wiggins.

The Cavs lost last year without Love, and that's one of the main reasons that they lost.

Reality check: Golden State is one of the best teams in NBA history. Over the past two regular seasons, they have a record of 140-24 (.854 winning percentage). They are on the verge of winning back-to-back championships. They have the two-time MVP. They have two other All Stars. They have excellent role players. And on top of that, they play so well as a team that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The Cavs are losing to a better team. It happens sometimes. There's no shame in that.

You need to get over jumping to mistaken conclusions. It doesn't require a crush on Wiggins to conclude that Love's tenure in Cleveland has been a bust and that it's time for the Cavs to move on; rather, it simply requires an elementary knowledge of basketball (and, for some, the maturity to admit they were wrong).

Reality check: those people who supported trading for Love now have egg on their face. Deal with it. It's OK to admit one was wrong about Love--certainly people who know a heck of a lot more about basketball (i.e., those calling the shots in the Cavs' front office) similarly misfired.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

You need to get over jumping to mistaken conclusions. It doesn't require a crush on Wiggins to conclude that Love's tenure in Cleveland has been a bust and that it's time for the Cavs to move on; rather, it simply requires an elementary knowledge of basketball (and, for some, the maturity to admit they were wrong).

Love's tenure has been a bust? Back-to-back Eastern conference championships and subsequent losses in the NBA Finals to an historically great team. Some bust.

You do realize that the Cavs have been in existence for 46 seasons; that they have made the NBA Finals only three times in those 46 seasons; and that Kevin Love has been an integral part (16 points per game; 10 rebounds per game) of two of those three teams that made the Finals.

What, exactly, was Kevin Love supposed to do in Cleveland? He's led the team in rebounding, he's been the third-highest scorer, he's shot 36% from three-point range, and he's played in all but 12 regular-season games in two seasons. What, exactly, is your complaint with Kevin Love?

Reality check: those people who supported trading for Love now have egg on their face. Deal with it. It's OK to admit one was wrong about Love--certainly people who know a heck of a lot more about basketball (i.e., those calling the shots in the Cavs' front office) similarly misfired.

So let's get the Wiggins fanboy perspective: In your little fantasy world, what would this Cavs team have done with Wiggins and without Love?

 

[WolverineMike]

Cleveland being back to back Eastern Conference champions and Finals participants are certainly NOT because of Love. You take Lebron off the team and they would struggle to be an 8th seed in the East.

 

[LitlBuck]

Cleveland being back to back Eastern Conference champions and Finals participants are certainly NOT because of Love. You take Lebron off the team and they would struggle to be an 8th seed in the East.

I would not go that far because Lebron eats up by lot of the salary cap which would be used on another very good player or possibly two.

 

[LitlBuck]

I just do not understand why everyone is blaming Love for probably (there is still a chance) losing the series against Golden State. The Warriors are a very well-rounded team unlike the Cavs. The same goes with trading Irving. I will agree that he is not a distributing PG but some of that has to be put on Lue and even Lebron because once James gets the ball and he is in his mindset he just stands out beyond the three-point line pounding the ball.

Love was quoted yesterday that this is a very close-knit team so if that is the case Lue needs to do a better job of coaching the individual talent.

 

[WolverineMike]

I'm not putting the blame on Love. Just saying he isn't the main reason Cleveland where they are now compared to when Lebron wasn't here. After Lebron left for Miami, were there salary cap issues? They drafted Kyrie but did they bring in any high quality players?


Love's game just doesn't translate well vs Golden State. He would have been a much more important piece had OKC not pissed down their own legs and choked that series away.


Any word on if Draymond is going to get suspended? Don't think it will really matter, I don't see Cleveland winning at the Oracle. That place will be rocking.

 

[LitlBuck]

I'm not putting the blame on Love. Just saying he isn't the main reason Cleveland where they are now compared to when Lebron wasn't here. After Lebron left for Miami, were there salary cap issues? They drafted Kyrie but did they bring in any high quality players?

I did not say that you were putting the blame on Love but you also have to remember that Love was not on the team when James was not there. So I disagree with you when you say that Cleveland would not even be in the playoffs without James. They would have an entirely different roster plus they would have Irving and Love (may be).

With regard to a Green suspension, I doubt it but nothing has been confirmed that I know of.. I guess they did not teach you to read when you attended TSUN

 

[WolverineMike]

Just my ohio education coming out.

 

[Robin159]

BREAKING NEWS: DRAYMOND SUSPENDED for Game 5

via yahoo sports reporter Spears and ESPN radio

Draymond Green Suspended For Game 5

Draymond Green has been suspended for Game 5.
The NBA gave retroactively gave Green a Flagrant Foul 1 for his exchange with LeBron James in Game 4.

Green "made unnecessary contact with a retaliatory swipe of his hand to the groin of James", according to the NBA.

Green had accumulated four flagrant foul points over the course of the playoffs. Every additional flagrant foul will result in either a one-game suspension for a Flagrant Foul 1 or a two-game suspension for a Flagrant Foul 2.

James has retroactively been assessed a technical foul.

https://www.google.com/amp/basketba...p/242216/Draymond-Green-Suspended-For-Game-5#