The Cleveland Cavaliers made a league-altering trade for Kevin Love back in 2014; now, let’s take a quick look back at how it panned out.
Back in 2014, after weeks of speculation (and the Cavs saying they wouldn’t trade Andrew Wiggins), the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Andrew Wiggins and former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett for Kevin Love.
The Timberwolves also received Thaddeus Young and 6.3 million dollar trade exception. The 76ers received Luc Richard Mbah A Moute, Alexey Shved and a 2015 first-round pick. This trade shifted the entire dynamic of the league, putting three MVP-caliber players all in Cleveland.
This trade bolstered the championship expectation in Cleveland and added the potential future-cornerstone of Minnesota’s long-struggling rebuild. It also provided Philadelphia with another first-round pick and a pair of expiring contracts.
At the time, this trade seemed like a win all around. Philly mingled a little bit and won their end of the deal, Cleveland looked for the win-now option and found it; meanwhile, the Wolves were able to plan for the future.
Almost half a decade later, does it still look like an all-around win? Would all three parties do the deal if we go back in time?
That said, ;et’s take a look back at how the trade worked out for the two main teams involved: