Can Cavs orchestrate a three-team trade to acquire Paul George, Kemba Walker

The 8th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and Love could be used in a three-team deal that brings two All-Stars to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker and Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Paul George.

The Cleveland Cavaliers attempting to trade Kevin Love seems like an inevitability. If they get the chance to strike this deal though, a three-team deal that brings in Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George and Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker to Cleveland, then they’ll be in position to lure LeBron James back and win a championship.

Quite frankly, the writing was on the wall last offseason when the Cavaliers attempted to move Love in a trade that would bring them George (and Carmelo Anthony) in an effort to match up better with the talent and positional versatility of the Golden State Warriors.

Love was dominant on offense to start the season, continuing to prove himself an elite shooter and — for the first time in his Cavs tenure — mixing it up inside with aggression and efficiency. The only problem was that the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to start him at center.

In order to operate at maximum efficiency on offense, spacing and perimeter prowess must be at a premium. For that reason, the Cavs started Jae Crowder as a stretch four while Love slid down a position.

The problem with Love playing center from a defensive standpoint? Everything.

He struggles to guard the pick-and-roll, is too often too passive as a rim-protector, gets bullied by bigger centers, outmatched by athletic centers and while he has gotten better guarding players on the perimeter, once he’s beat he lacks the recovery speed to be of any importance for the rest of the play.

When his teammates got beat his help defense was mediocre.

Starting Tristan Thompson, who actually struggled until the postseason, is fine. But the Cavs can never have the best of both worlds.

The 8th pick and Love could be used in a three-team deal that brings two All-Stars to the Cavaliers.

Say 28-year-old Walker and 28-year-old George.

This doesn’t give them the stretch five they want but it does give them three elite playmakers to place beside at least one three-point specialist on the perimeter. With their combined shot-creating abilities and ability to shoot from three-point range, they really don’t need a stretch five to have a dynamic offense either though.

The defense will already be bent to the point of breaking because each of Walker, George and LeBron are talented enough to draw a double-team.

George, a 6-foot-9 three-position player with great ball-handling, basketball IQ, a great shooting touch, above the rim ability, has averaged 22.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on 43.6 percent shooting from the field and 38.9 percent shooting from three over the last three seasons.

He averaged 2.0 assists per game last season and has proven to be both dynamic and versatile on both ends over the course of his career.

Walker has averaged 22.0 points, 5.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game over the last three seasons. A phenomenal ball-handler who will thrive in the Cavaliers space and use his touch and a bevy of moves to score inside, Walker will also be dedicated to facilitating.

At 6-foot-1, he’s a smaller point guard but he’s a fearless finisher and will battle on the defensive end.

With two players who have shown the ability to average over 20.0 points per game, James can take a step back in that department next season.

It may seem like a fantasy but if LeBron tries his hand at recruiting George again, the Thunder should be fine with Love, who likely has more value than the 8th pick in the draft to Westbrook.

Love was Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook’s teammate and roommate at UCLA, so a decade’s worth of familiarity is there between Love and the leader of the Thunder franchise.

Love will also be particularly valuable on the court. While Andre Roberson and Steven Adams provide elite defense that will help hide him on that end, his scoring ability — from outside the arc to under the rim — is much needed. As is his ability to space the floor and create space for Westbrook to drive.

With the Charlotte Hornets going nowhere and Kemba Walker their most valuable asset, trading him for a future face of the franchise and rebuilding rather than paying a lot of money for a mediocre team could be the best option.

Walker will be paid $12 million next season — the final year of his contract — and while the Cavs give up the 8th pick they’ll also be trading Jordan Clarkson.

Clarkson, a talented scorer, may have worn out his welcome in Cleveland with a postseason showing that was reminiscent of Deron Williams’ play in the 2017 NBA Finals and Isaiah Thomas’ play just a week into his first stretch of games for the Cavs.

He averaged 4.7 points and 0.7 assists per game while shooting 30.1 percent from the field and 23.9 percent from three in the 19 games he played before being pulled from the rotation in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals.

He could always get a second chance but his failure to move the ball and insistence on forcing up tough shots isn’t championship basketball. Not anymore.

MICHAEL Jordan, the Hornets owner, may see something in Clarkson’s fearlessness. He needs to do better at utilizing his basketball IQ under pressure but if he can do that, there’s no question that a team can use his microwave scoring.

You might never have guessed it if you only watched the postseason but Clarkson averaged 13.9 points and 2.7 assists per game on 45.1 percent shooting from the field and 35.2 percent shooting from three in the regular season.

Clarkson and Hornets guard Malik Monk could be a headache together in plenty of games but they could also grow into a dynamic duo under Jordan’s tutelage, should they seek his advice.

Then they could use the 8th pick on a center that they can rely on, with Dwight Howard and Frank Kaminsky entering the final season of their contract.

In truth, the real losers of this move are the Hornets but the question is how much can they win if they DON’T trade Kemba, save their money and rebuild?

Could a Big Three of Walker, George and LeBron be enough to take down the Warriors? Yes.

It would also be exciting to see LeBron lead a new trio to the challenge.

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*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com