Cleveland Cavs (2016 NBA Champions)

[tsteele316]

I think Love has said that he'd extend to come to Cleveland, so it wouldn't be a one year rental.

As for putting Kyrie in a deal for Love, there's no way you trade one of the best young PGs in the league. Kyrie has had issues, but he's still very young. Part of his problem was probably feeling like he had to shoulder such a large scoring load on some really bad teams. Take that away and he should be able to really start to grow now. Poor PG play is one of the things that plagued the Heat the whole time LeBron was there and was a major reason (along with a terrible bench) that San Antonio beat the hell out of them in the finals.

honestly, minnesota dragging their feet and unreasonably demanding wiggins could end up burning them. i'll laugh my ass off if the cavs tell them thanks but no thanks if bennett's play carries over from summer league to the regular season and the cavs end up trading for deandre jordan or something like that instead, and loves walks and minny gets nothing.

 

[Piney]

1) I don't follow the NBA or know anything about the contracts, but say Love stays put this year (I am thinking we should keep Wiggins)...is he out of his contract next year? If so, I think it would make sense to play hardball and only leave the Bennett/Waiters,1st rounder deal on the able. If they keep saying no, screw them and add Love next year to Lebron, Kyrie, and Wiggins. That would be RIDICULOUS. If that is the scenario, can we also hang on to Bennett and Waiters?

2) I would bet my left one that UFM is going to really utilize the hell out of LeBron now in recruiting. He might be a perpetual game attender this year (hopefully).

If Love is not traded this season, he has said he will opt out and become a free agent next season. So he can be free to go anywhere.

BUT, that is not good for the Cavs. As we will be over the cap next season (Kyrie's max contract kicks in) and won't be able to sign him outright. We would have to do a sign and trade. The plus side is the Brendan Haywood contract. While he is paid $2 million this year, since he was amnestied he has a kicker to $10 million for next year but it is not guarenteed. So he has a great sign&trade contract as Minnesota can cut him as soon as they get him and he won't get a penny.

So, let's say it is next offseason. Love can sign with the Cavs and the Cavs would do a sign and trade with Minnesota. That trade would look like Haywood plus either Waiters/Bennett/? to get the salaries to match then whatever 1st rounders are needed. Plus Minnesota would have the leverage with the Cavs since the Cavs would not be able to sign Love without Minnesota's help.

The down side... a few other teams could have the salary space to sign him outright (ie the Lakers) that may be more appealing to him since the rumors are Love would like to go home to the west coast.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

This is the tally I have in my head.. so the cap gurus have work to do to get anywhere near $63M
James $21,050,000
Kyrie Irving $7,459,924
Tristan Thompson $5,421,233
Wiggins $4,592,200
Anderson Varejao $9,800,000
Matthew Dellavedova $816,482
Carrick Felix $816,482
Brendan Haywood $2,213,688
Joe Harris
Dwight Powell
Love $15,719,062
Anthony Bennett $5,563,920
Dion Waiters $4,062,000
Ray Allen $4,000,000
Mike Miller $4,000,000
TOTALS: $85,514,991

 

[UpNorth_Buckeye]

I think Love has said that he'd extend to come to Cleveland, so it wouldn't be a one year rental.

As for putting Kyrie in a deal for Love, there's no way you trade one of the best young PGs in the league. Kyrie has had issues, but he's still very young. Part of his problem was probably feeling like he had to shoulder such a large scoring load on some really bad teams. Take that away and he should be able to really start to grow now. Poor PG play is one of the things that plagued the Heat the whole time LeBron was there and was a major reason (along with a terrible bench) that San Antonio beat the hell out of them in the finals.

The reason why I would trade Kyrie for Love is because I personally think he's a little overrate for the reasons I've stated before. But you could be right, in that now that he won't have to be the main/only scoring option he could turn more into a distributor.

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

Expect Kyrie to change immensely with LeBron here...
Before, he felt/knew HE was THE MAN in crunch time
now there's a new sheriff in town that can get in his grill
and remind him.. there's a new alpha dog in the pack

It will make Irving a much much better player.. and a team player

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

Expect Kyrie to change immensely with LeBron here...
Before, he felt/knew HE was THE MAN in crunch time
now there's a new sheriff in town that can get in his grill
and remind him.. there's a new alpha dog in the pack

It will make Irving a much much better player.. and a team player

Assuming he's not injured. That's my biggest concern... Since he's been in the league he's only played 9 more games that Diane over that same time period.. not good

 

[NJ-Buckeye]

That is a general concern I have with the entire potential Cavs lineup
you don't want to overplay guys

IF we get either Miller and/or Allen... you have to limit them to under 20
Andy needs to be watched
Irving needs to be watched
and even LeBron ran out of gas in the playoffs from being overplayed during the year

the bench has to be good enuf to eat minutes and keep us in games
but who will be the bench

 

[tsteele316]

If Love is not traded this season, he has said he will opt out and become a free agent next season. So he can be free to go anywhere.

BUT, that is not good for the Cavs. As we will be over the cap next season (Kyrie's max contract kicks in) and won't be able to sign him outright. We would have to do a sign and trade. The plus side is the Brendan Haywood contract. While he is paid $2 million this year, since he was amnestied he has a kicker to $10 million for next year but it is not guarenteed. So he has a great sign&trade contract as Minnesota can cut him as soon as they get him and he won't get a penny.

So, let's say it is next offseason. Love can sign with the Cavs and the Cavs would do a sign and trade with Minnesota. That trade would look like Haywood plus either Waiters/Bennett/? to get the salaries to match then whatever 1st rounders are needed. Plus Minnesota would have the leverage with the Cavs since the Cavs would not be able to sign Love without Minnesota's help.

The down side... a few other teams could have the salary space to sign him outright (ie the Lakers) that may be more appealing to him since the rumors are Love would like to go home to the west coast.

but love has also stated his desire to play for a legit contender. so, the number of teams, with the actual space to sign him, that fit that bill are pretty limited.

 

[Bucks21]

I don't trade for Love now, wait to see how this team plays till the deadline, if Love gets traded before then oh well, we have a ton of assets and young guys going forward, no need to sacrifice that now especially Kyrie or Wiggins.

 

[y0yoyoin]

Keep in mind Tristan Thompson's agent is also Rich Paul...i doubt he gets traded...also someone on RCF posted this which is also interesting:

I've posted this half a hundred times, but it keeps becoming relevant again. Now, let's assume the report is true, AND let's assume Lebron would actually return:

Here's a few related deals in recent years for guys of similar age, contract, and status.

BOSTON ACQUIRES KEVIN GARNETT FOR:
Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, 2009 first round draft pick (top three protected), Minnesota's own conditional #1 returned to them, and cash.
*Side note. They kept both Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo out of the deal*
Analysis: 1-2 high prospects, 2-3 lower tier/filler, 2 First Rounders, and cash

NEW YORK ACQUIRES CARMELO ANTHONY FOR:
Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, the Knicks 2014 first-round draft pick, the Warriors' 2012 second-round pick, the Warriors' 2013 second-round pick
Analysis: 2-3 high prospects, 1-2 lower tier/filler, 1 First Rounder, 2 Second Rounders, cash

NEW JERSEY ACQUIRES DERON WILLIAMS:
Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first-round draft picks and cash
*Side note: They kept Brook Lopez out of the deal.*
Analysis: 1 high prospect, 1 lower tier/filler, 2 First Rounders, cash

HOUSTON ACQUIRES JAMES HARDEN FOR:
Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick
*Side note: They kept Chandler Parsons, Terrence Jones, and Donatas Montejunas out of the deal*
Analysis: 1 kind of high prospect, 1 pretty good player, 2 First Rounders, 1 Second rounder

LOS ANGELES LAKERS ACQUIRE DWIGHT HOWARD FOR:
Andrew Bynum (*Injured), Earl Clark, Christian Eyenga one first-round draft pick
*Side note: They kept Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Pau Gasol out of the deal. Also, remember this was a 4 team trade and Orlando ended up with Vucevic, Afflalo, Harrington, Eyenga, McBobs, Osby, and Mo Harkless*
Analysis: 1 Star-ish player, 2 filler, 1 First Rounder

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS ACQUIRE CHRIS PAUL FOR:
Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Minnesota's Unprotected 2012 First Rounder
*Side note: They kept Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Eric Bledsoe out of the deal. Also, the Hornets sent two Second Rounders to LA in the deal*
Analysis: 1 young prospect, 2 filler, 1 High First Rounder, and lost two Second Rounders

 

[y0yoyoin]

My thing with Kevin Love is this. We do not want the same thing to happen as it did when Lebron first played with the cavs for 7 years. We always tried to find his side kick with Mo williams and larry hughes. We need to get him some sure fire talent. Kevin Love is exactly that. But you do not want to sacrafice so much getting him that you leave the team in worst shape when LeBron leaves. If Bosh did not re-sign with the heat their team would be in utter shambles. Who knows if Wiggins is going to be a great player. We know Kevin Love definitley is and the bottom line is we need to make LeBron happy. I would love to see us wait until around the trade deadline before making any major moves but with Golden State and possibly Houston also wanting KLove, that may not be possible

 

[tsteele316]

all of this doesn't matter as everyone in the cavs organization has said they aren't trading wiggins. the whole wiggins trade deal was nothing but wishful thinking by the timberwolves, perpetuated by the dullards at ESPN that have really shown they have no clue about anything.

bottom line is the cavs have made, and can make the best offer, and if/as bennett continues to improve and minnesota sits on their hands, their return gets less and less. golden state isn't offering klay thompson and houston has nothing of great value that would match what the cavs are offering.

 

[Bucky32]

People saying that Cleveland isn't a title contender are crazy IMO. They had the best record in the East when the conference was stronger with poorer support around LeBron.

I fully expect them to be a 55-60 win team next year.

 

[buckeyesin07]

all of this doesn't matter as everyone in the cavs organization has said they aren't trading wiggins. the whole wiggins trade deal was nothing but wishful thinking by the timberwolves, perpetuated by the dullards at ESPN that have really shown they have no clue about anything.

bottom line is the cavs have made, and can make the best offer, and if/as bennett continues to improve and minnesota sits on their hands, their return gets less and less. golden state isn't offering klay thompson and houston has nothing of great value that would match what the cavs are offering.

Bingo. Every talking head at ESPN seems to think that the Cavs definitely will offer Wiggins, despite the statements to the contrary from the Cavs (and some ESPN clowns go further, suggesting Wiggins isn't enticing enough for the T-Wolves to deal Love). It really is like they don't realize Minnesota won't have Love locked up past this year. There are very few teams Love would sign with long-term, which is a must for any of his suitors. The T-Wolves have basically no leverage here, and would be lucky to get Waiters, Bennett and a first-rounder.

 

[Buckeneye]

Speaking of Bennett - boy, seems like his game has picked up a bit. Although it would have been hard to be any worse.