Cleveland Cavaliers: Could Kevin Love be the next Blake Griffin?

3 of 5

CLEVELAND, OH – MAY 7: JR Smith #5 celebrates with Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half of Game 4 of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at Quicken Loans Arena on May 7, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Raptors 128-93. 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. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Fast forward to February trade deadline

Let’s fast forward to February. Assuming the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t make any huge trades between now and then (looks unlikely considering the Love extension and resigning Channing Frye), we could see the Cavaliers and other teams with the following records:

Cleveland Cavaliers: 26-31
Miami Heat: 29-27
Washington Wizards: 31-26
Portland Trail Blazers: 30-27

I chose these teams because they are all above the cap and they have a relatively glaring hole at power forward, where Love could fit nicely.

If the Cavaliers are looking lottery bound with a losing record at the All-Star break, they would have almost zero incentive to not get their top-10 pick back from Atlanta.

All the Cavaliers would have to do is not make the playoffs in the East (9th seed) as the West projects to have much better records, so getting into the top-10 could be as easy as missing the playoffs in the East.