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Cavs rumors: 3 teams attempted to trade for Kevin Love last season

By Quenton S. Albertie

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 28: Dion Waiters #11 of the Miami Heat and Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talk after the game on November 28, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 28: Dion Waiters #11 of the Miami Heat and Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talk after the game on November 28, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Cavaliers five-time All-Star Kevin Love wasn’t a hot commodity last season but there were still a fair number of teams that wanted to trade for him.

According to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, three teams — the Miami Heat, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Charlotte Hornets — attempted to trade for Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star forward-center Kevin Love but were quickly rebuffed.

Per Deveney:

"Throughout the season, especially as Cleveland struggled with the veteran group it originally put together, teams would call the Cavs with one player especially targeted: All-Star forward Kevin Love. Each time, the inquiring team — among them, according to sources, were Miami, Charlotte and Portland — was given a polite “No, thanks.”"

Love signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension with the Cavs on Monday.

Cavs general manager Koby Altman has said repeatedly that he doesn’t know how the team would get better by moving Love, due to his unique ability to dominate as both a jump shooter and rebounder in frontcourt. Because he’s also a solid scorer from the low-post to the three-point arc, at 6-foot-10, Love is a walking mismatch on offense.

Even while never being a first option, Love averaged 17.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals per game (while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three) as a Cav.

He’s had 29.9 win shares and .169 win shares per 48 minutes in that time and the Cavs have been 6.6 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court.

As the Cavaliers would note in their press release on Monday, Love was one of four players to make at least 100 threes and pull down 9.0 rebounds per game last season. The others were Karl Anthony-Towns, DeMarcus Cousins and Nikola Jokic, three big men who receive the utmost praise for their offensive talents.

Altman has also said it’s difficult to receive fair value for an All-Star (Love is a five-time All-Star).

Putting those statements into context, the Cavs have indeed been trying to improve their roster — especially when readying themselves for championship battles against a team like the Golden State Warriors — and have never said Love is an “untouchable” player in trade talks.

His extension doesn’t even prevent him from being traded, for six months at least.

However, Love is and will be looked at as a cornerstone player for the Cavs.

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To acquire Love, a team would simply have to make an offer the Cavaliers couldn’t refuse.

Unfortunately for the Heat, their best players — point guard Goran Dragic and All-Star Hassan Whiteside — don’t hold that type of value. Talented though they are, Dragic wouldn’t move the needle much in a deal that sent Love to South Beach. Whiteside is simply too high-maintenance and his combative behavior could be chaotic.

The Hornets would have had a better chance with All-Star point guard Kemba Walker but a deal with them would have likely required them to pick up small forward Nicolas Batum’s severely overpriced contract (he’ll be owed $49.6 million, guaranteed, over the next two seasons with a $27.1 million player option in the third and final season of the deal) while his career is in decline.

The Trail Blazers would have had to trade either their All-Star point guard, Damian Lillard, or C.J. McCollum, his stellar backcourt mate. However, attempting a trade for Love signals a desire to amass more talent at the top of the roster, not swap them out; the Blazers would want Love to be part of a Big Three with Lillard and McCollum.

That leaves players like Mo Harkless and Jusuf Nurkic as the best talent the Blazers could offer in exchange. They’re both starters in the league but there’s not a single All-Star selection, or All-Star worthy season, between them.

It’s not surprising these teams couldn’t get a deal done for Love.

Hypothetically, to trade for Love, there at least has to be one All-Star involved in the deal for the Cavs to seriously consider it. The Catch-22 is, All-Stars aren’t players that teams are usually keen on moving.

Just ask Altman.

Next. 5 under-the-radar free agents the Cavs can still sign. dark

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