Who’s more likely to be traded: Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving?

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 21: Kevin Love
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 21: Kevin Love /
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Will the Cleveland Cavaliers trade Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love first?

While the NBA world waits for the Cleveland Cavaliers to trade Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love was shopped so thoroughly this offseason it’s hard to imagine the Cavs have stopped trying to move him. Cleveland’s Big Three, as we know it, will end soon.

But who will be traded first?

Irving or Love?

Irving, who Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert expects to show up to training camp, has seemingly cut ties with the organization. Meanwhile, Love continues to keep his opinions close to the vest and LeBron James has made nice with the sharpshooting power forward on Twitter.

Irving is unlikely to be traded to New York, who would only be giving the Cavs a much older volume scorer in Carmelo Anthony and first-round draft picks that (a) don’t help them win now and (b) might not be as valuable if Irving and Kristaps Porzingis are able to win more than Anthony and Porzingis did. Love is a player who New York has waffled on as the Cavs have tried to trade him to the Knicks multiple times since his arrival in Cleveland. It’s likely that if Anthony – who has a no-trade clause – is to be moved, the Knicks would be more inclined to accept Love in a trade for the Cavs than to accept a trade for the Houston Rockets’ Ryan Anderson.

However, while Love could be traded to New York, his trade value and the number of teams that would trade for him pales in comparison to Irving. Love is a 28-year-old power forward who possesses three elite talents: three-point shooting, defensive rebounding and fullcourt outlet passes. Each of Love’s abilities are useful but it’s hard for many to lose the memory of his struggle to have a consistent impact against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals and, to a lesser extent, the 2017 NBA Finals. Irving on the other hand, has shined against the Warriors just about every chance he gets. Some would even say he’s outplayed Stephen Curry, a two-time NBA MVP and a transcendent player, in the Finals.

Whether or not it’s true, it’s obvious that Irving, whose ball-handling, finishing around the rim and shooting ability make him one of the most dangerous scorers in the entire league, is the more valuable player.

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Add in that Irving is three years younger, playing a position that has transformed from requiring players who can facilitate to one’s who can score and Irving’s natural alpha male tendencies and it’s clear who the more valuable player is.

Which is why the Cavs could be more inclined to make it work with Irving. However, Irving is the player who can provide a greater haul and really spark the transformation of the Cavs’ present and future.

With all that said, the Cavs would trade both Love and Irving because their system relies on James.

James is the focal point of the offense. He’s the sun that planets orbits around.

What he needs to succeed, based on his blueprint, is a combo forward and scoring guard.

The Cavs’ could probably get that done in a number of ways. It’s just the matter of who gets traded first, Irving or Love?

In my opinion, Irving need to be moved first to force the Knicks into a decision.

Do they want Anthony, Anderson or Love? All things considered, Love could be the best player in that group and he’s certainly the most likely to stay in New York and have a significant impact for a number of years. Besides, a Love-Porzingis pairing in the frontcourt is a pretty versatile duo that the Knicks can build around.

As previously mentioned, the Cavs can use Love’s talents. However, based on James’ blueprint, they could really use a combo forward like Anthony (who can flat-out score) and scoring point guard (whether that’s Irving or Eric Bledsoe).

Related Story: The Denver Nuggets could use Kyrie Irving's leadership?

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ offseason has been a roller coaster. Let’s see what twists and turns happen next.