Cleveland Cavaliers: Revisiting A Kevin Love – DeMarcus Cousins Trade
Lots Of Love
As for Love, he’s currently having his best season of his NBA career. He’s been absolutely sensational this season and is having a career-year shooting the ball from behind-the-line, as a free-throw shooter and defensively. He’s certainly the most aggressive he’s been since he’s been in Cleveland but the most important part is that he’s being efficient.
| Season | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 7.0 | 15.3 | .458 | 2.8 | 6.8 | .407 | 4.3 | 8.5 | .498 | 5.2 | 6.0 | .869 | 2.5 | 8.5 | 10.9 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 22.0 |
| Career | 6.1 | 13.8 | .445 | 1.5 | 4.1 | .366 | 4.6 | 9.7 | .479 | 4.7 | 5.8 | .818 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 11.5 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 18.5 |
| 6 seasons | 6.4 | 14.1 | .451 | 1.2 | 3.3 | .362 | 5.2 | 10.8 | .479 | 5.3 | 6.4 | .815 | 3.7 | 8.5 | 12.2 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 19.2 |
| 3 seasons | 5.7 | 13.1 | .432 | 2.1 | 5.7 | .372 | 3.6 | 7.4 | .478 | 3.7 | 4.5 | .824 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 17.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
A trade for Love, while he’s playing so well within the Big Three and has formed a genuine bond with the team, is going to be impossible. Looking like the player that was deserving of two first overall picks all season, with a 34-point first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers and has scored 20 or more points in 18 games this season while being efficient, aggressive and displaying his basketball intelligence on both ends of the court.
He’s been playing so well that, although the Cavs called about Cousins’ availability in the summer according to Kyler, there’s probably no way they’d trade Love. Even for a player who may be the best big man in the league.
Is it a mistake?
With the way the Cavs are rolling, it doesn’t seem like it. Aside from the time it would take Tyronn Lue to integrate Cousins into it, there’s a question of if Cousins will play the defense necessary to make a serious difference for the team. While Love isn’t going to stun crowds with a defensive impact that produces highlight-reel blocks, suffocating defense on players on the perimeter or play much low-post defense, he’s typically in the right spots at the right time and able to minimize the impact his lack of athleticism might have on his defensive ability to making the correct rotations and playing with tremendous effort on the defensive end.