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Cleveland Cavaliers: Revisiting A Kevin Love – DeMarcus Cousins Trade

By Quenton S. Albertie

Dec 31, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts to a call against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Should the Cleveland Cavaliers call up the Sacramento Kings about Kevin Love for DeMarcus Cousins trade, again?

Earlier this year, it was seemingly inevitable that Kevin Love would be traded in the offseason. He just wasn’t fitting in.

David Blatt was criticized for his usage of Love but in many ways the bigger problem was the psyche of Love. He was passive. Submissive even. He was relegated to being a spot-up shooter on the outside at 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds and possessing an excellent shooting stroke that extended to the three-point range but was far more deadly at the elbow.

From that spot on the floor, Love could be a true triple-threat. He could either drive and attack an opposing big off the dribble with less real estate needed to get to the rim, shoot, or make the pass. In other words, it was preferable to have Love at the elbow more, rather than always spotted outside of the arc.

It would also have helped for Love to take and make more shots from the inside. Yet, Love was inefficient around the rim and lacked the strength to consistently back down opponents.

Nonetheless, those things didn’t happen and while Love remained a supremely talented by underutilized and somewhat underachieving third star for the Cavs, he was supposed to be a superstar. He wasn’t supposed to be able to be schemed out of games because he couldn’t keep up with the power forwards on the perimeter, the quickness to make timely rotations or have the strength to prevent himself from being bullied in the pain. Yet, those were many of the problems that existed Love last year.

At the same time, in the Western Conference, there was a supremely talented but mishandled superstar that seemed destined to leave the team that he had been drafted by. DeMarcus Cousins, widely considered to be one of the two best big men in the league along with New Orleans Pelicans forward-center Anthony Davis, was on a team that looked like it was heading nowhere fast while playing for a franchise with no direction.

He’s one of the most volatile players in the NBA. Having been drafted into the world of professional basketball at 20-years-old, the face of the Sacramento Kings franchise after being drafted fifth overall in 2010, Cousins has been battling on the court for a franchise who has given him six different coaches in seven seasons. The environment, one of disarray and without a winning culture, had a pronounced effect of Cousins’ behavior on the effect. This isn’t to excuse Cousins, just to paint a better picture of why a player so talented might seem so irrationally irritated when he’s on the court.

With his contract expiring after next year, it was widely thought that Cousins would head for greener pastures.