Did Iman Shumpert and Kevin Love perform well enough in the Finals to stay?

Were the Cleveland Cavaliers satisfied with Iman Shumpert and Kevin Love’s performance in the 2017 NBA Finals?

Iman Shumpert and Kevin Love will find their names used in trade packages as fans, national writers and on-air personalities try to figure out what’s next for the Cleveland Cavaliers after losing 4-1 to the Golden State Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals.

Before the end of the Finals, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Carmelo Anthony and DeMarcus Cousins were suggested as players that could be part of a Big 4, or a new-look Big 3, in Cleveland. Yet, owner Dan Gilbert says he liked his core of players, according to cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon.

"“I feel good about our talent, our personnel, coaching staff, everything”"

Shumpert held his own on the defensive end against the Golden State Warriors, who shot 34.8 percent against the Cavs guard in the NBA Finals and he was particularly effective guarding Kevin Durant in Game 2. Nonetheless, he also shot 23.5 percent from the field (4-17 from the field) and 22.2 percent from three-point range (2-9 from three-point range) in the series

Love, who had struggled to stay on the court against the Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals, averaged a double-double with 16.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game while playing 32.2 minutes per contest in the 2017 NBA Finals. He also was solid on the defensive end, averaging 2.2 steals and 1.0 block per game. In the 2016 NBA Finals, Love averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while only playing 26.3 minutes per game.

However, Love shot 38.8 percent from the field and though his defensive activity led to turnovers as he jumped the passing lanes, he was exposed when he had to defend out the Warriors guards in space.

Tristan Thompson, Kyle Korver and Deron Williams were the worst performers in the series. However, Williams and Korver are already set to be free agents in the offseason.

Williams missed his first 11 shots from the floor as he went 2-16 from the field and 1-9 from three-point range in the Finals overall.  He also failed make an impact as a defender on the perimeter or in the post when matched up against Shaun Livingston. To make matters worse, Williams wasn’t an effective distributor either; in 61 total minutes of play, Williams had 6 total assists.

Korver went 3-12 from three-point range in his first three games and though he finished the series going 2-4 from three-point range in the final two games, his lack of foot speed combined with his one-dimensional offense makes him expendable as well.

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Unlike Love or Shumpert, Thompson isn’t relied on for his offensive contributions; his job is to hustle and crash the glass.

Although he couldn’t find a way to do his job early in the series, the Warriors had a specific gameplan for him in the first three games of the series, as he was constantly double and triple-teamed under the glass. His initial ineffectiveness led to him being off the court as much as Love was in the 2016 NBA Finals. Still, being a player that the best team in the NBA has to gameplan for shows the level of importance he has for this Cavs team and Thompson figured out how to get around the Warriors gameplan by the end of the series. He averaged 9.0 rebounds (4.0 offensive) per game in the final two games of the Finals.

Of the three players who struggled in the NBA Finals and are going to be under contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers through the summer (Shumpert, Love and Thompson), Thompson has the best chance of staying with the team. LeBron James looks at him like a little brother and Thompson’s ability to stay healthy, crash the offensive glass and be a mobile defensive center is invaluable.

Shumpert and Love, however, have had their names linked to trades for the past couple of seasons. Shumpert is a player who could eventually transform into a dependable two-way player and Love is a versatile power forward with elite talents. Nonetheless, both of these players are weak links for the Cavs.

That’s not necessarily a dig, as both players would be valuable on just about any team.

However, this is all about the Warriors and against the Warriors the Cleveland Cavaliers need a two-way player on the wing in the second unit. Despite Shumpert’s defensive tenacity on the perimter, Shumpert isn’t a two-way wing; he can’t be counted on to score off-the-dribble and his offensive skillset is limited to catch-and-shoot three-point attempts and pull-up jump shots from the elbow.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also need a frontcourt player that can consistently guard the Warriors’ guards in space, and Love can’t. The Cavs also need a tertiary All-Star who can consistently score in isolation.

With that said, Love and Shumpert are two Cavs who will likely be on the trade block this summer because in a paradoxical way, although they don’t fit what the Cavs need, they both took their games to the next level prior to the NBA Finals.

Last season, Shumpert had his highest three-point percentage (36.0) and free-throw percentage (78.9) since 2012-2013. Because of career-high in shooting from 0-3 feet around the rim (62.2 percent) and his second-highest shooting percentage from 16-24 feet away from the rim (47.4 percent), Shumpert had a career-high two-point percentage (46.9). He also had career-highs in field goal percentage (41.1) and effective field goal percentage (50.7).

Love had Cleveland-highs in points per game (19.0), free-throw attempts per game (4.9), rebounds per game (11.1), steals per game (0.9), three-point percentage (37.3) and effective field goal percentage (51.0). After committing to a diet regimen, Love now weighs 30 pounds less than he did before he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and is much more mobile, being able to attack players off-the-dribble and make impact plays as a helpside defender.

As of today, George has thrown water on the idea that he would join the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer and Butler seems content with the Chicago Bulls right now after a “positive” exit-meeting, according to the Chicago Tribune‘s K.C. Johnson.

Anthony is on the trade block until Phil Jackson says he has no plans to trade him.

Love, and Shumpert, might be lost in the shuffle as the Cleveland Cavaliers try to trade for one of these All-Star quality forwards.

Related Story: 3 trades the Cavs can make for Carmelo Anthony

*Unless otherwise referenced, stats courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com