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A contrarian’s view of the Andrew Wiggins – Kevin Love trade

ByQuenton S. Albertie|

Were the Cleveland Cavaliers really the winners of the Andrew Wiggins – Kevin Love trade?

In 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers saw the fortunes of their franchise change forever with the return of superstar LeBron James. 2014 marked the year that the Cavs traded the 2014 NBA Draft’s first overall pick, Andrew Wiggins, for a then three-time All-Star in power forward Kevin Love.

The trade has largely been seen as a success for the Cavs.

Not only did the Cavs reach the NBA Finals for four consecutive seasons with Love, he’s averaged 17.1 points (57.3 true shooting percentage), 10.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game since joining the Cavs.

His basketball IQ and skill have been invaluable for the team’s offense.

Further, who can forget “The Stop?”

Love shuffled his feet masterfully to stay in front of two-time MVP Stephen Curry, sealing the Cleveland Cavaliers’ victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. That’s the highlight of his career, perhaps, and it’s seen as one of the most memorable plays from the Cavs’ championship run.

But why is thinking Wiggins, who won Rookie of the Year after being traded by the Cavs, could have made anywhere near the impact Love made considered blasphemous by the fan base?

Averaging 19.7 points (52.6 true shooting is), 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for his career, despite fluctuating roles, Wiggins isn’t aesthetically pleasing for those who want to watch analytics-driven basketball.

Wiggins is a lot like the star wings of the 1990s era of basketball, an athletic slasher with a preference for midrange shots and solid post skills.

Unfortunately, his midrange game isn’t efficient. Furthermore, Wiggins takes more two-point shots (from at least 10 feet away from the rim) with “tight defense” (16.2 percent) than open or wide open shots.

Per Basketball Reference, 37.2 percent of his shots come from 10 feet away from the rim to the three-point line. However, he makes just 37.0 percent of his shots from 10-16 feet away from the rim and 34.4 percent of his shots from 16 feet away from the rim to the three-point line.

Per SAP Analytics, Wiggins scored 0.91 points per possession in the post last season while shooting 51.6 percent from the field (71st percentile).

His pet move is a whirlwind spin inside the lane that allows him to create separation from defenders and, as a player with a pretty good handle of the ball, Wiggins’ ability to score on drives is exceptional.

Per SAP Analytics, Wiggins drove 7.7 times per game last season (the same amount as Jordan Clarkson, to give Cavs fans a reference), shooting 45.2 percent from the field (Paul George made 45.6 percent of his shots on drives, for reference).

Both players can mix it up in the post but he’s not nearly the same type of player Love is on offense because he has guard skills, fluidity and athleticism that Love doesn’t and Love is an elite shooter.

However, is that a big enough reason for why Wiggins wouldn’t fit in Cleveland? Especially with a career shooting percentage of 40.8 on corner threes?

Since we’re talking about Love, defense certainly isn’t the reason.

Love is a decent low-post defender because when guarding players in a short area, his length and size lends itself to shot contests. However, when forced to move his feet, such as in help defense or the pick-and-roll, Love tends to struggle and get fatigued.

This is particularly true when he’s playing against an athletic frontcourt player though he recognizes how to use his size and transformed physique to take advantage of bigger and smaller players alike.

Wiggins isn’t a lockdown defender but he certainly has the athletic tools and length (6-foot-8, 7-foot wingspan) to stick with players.

This game from March 2017 is a great display of Wiggins’ potential as a perimeter defender and, against a healthy Kawhi Leonard, every missed shot Wiggins forces is significant.

Wiggins is also a decent defender in the post too, although he’s unlikely to be guarding many players who excel at scoring in the post at his position. In 2018, it’s to hard to even find traditional big men who excel at scoring in the post.

As far as rebounding, with James shifting to the four spot (which would also help the team defense more than a James – Love duo at forward), Wiggins would have to replace James’ production in theory.

Per Basketball Reference, James was a superior rebounder to Love last season when he played the four, averaging 10.5 rebounds per game in February while Love was out with a fractured hand.

Wiggins averaged 4.4 rebounds per game last season while James averaged 8.6 rebounds per game; the Cavs would essentially have to replace just that difference.

Numbers aside, the Cavs would stylistically have been different.

With a report from Cavs former general manager David Griffin that Gordon Hayward was committed to Cleveland prior to James’ announcement, pairing Wiggins with James wasn’t a positional issue for the Cavs.

It was James’ unwillingness to play with another on-ball playmaker in addition to Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters.

Furthermore, in a trade for Love, who had just averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, Wiggins would be a far more valuable trade chip than Waiters.

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A growing star in Irving and Wiggins were expected to form a new Big Three with James, who had won two championships in the four years since his last season with the Wine and Gold.

He could have helped just as much as Love, if not more; the last two NBA Finals for the Cavs saw them lacking perimeter playmaking and wing defenders.

Now, without Irving or James, the team will rebuild with 30-year-old Love instead of 23-year-old Wiggins.

Love and Wiggins are, ironically, both underrated. However, for what the Cavs ended up needing, Wiggins may have been the better choice.