With Kevin Love not being able to show much with this play this season due to injury, it’s nothing new that there’s reportedly not much of a market for him near the 3 P.M. trade deadline.
The Cleveland Cavaliers know that the timing around this year’s trade deadline has been mainly about stockpiling draft picks for the near future, and their most recent trade (which was initially reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and more was noted in a Cavs’ press release today) illustrates that approach. With that being the case, ESPN’s Bobby Marks reporting (subscription required and h/t Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker) that “there is not a serious market” for Kevin Love is anything but surprising, and it shows that Cleveland getting a big return via trade for their aging star is unrealistic.
Love has only played in four games this season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, due to him being sidelined following reported toe surgery. This injury-shortened year, combined with Love’s long past injury history makes trading him potentially for a considerable number of assets, such as young pieces and multiple future first-round picks, seemingly even more unlikely.
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This report from Marks just emphasizes that difficult truth even more.
Love reportedly agreed to a four-year extension worth over $120 million last July that kicks in next year (per Spotrac), and it’s hard to believe other teams want to take on that long-term financial burden for a player that is really good offensively when he plays, but he is very, very injury-prone now and is not getting any younger.
Granted, Love could still be a cornerstone piece, and likely will be in the coming years for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they progress in their long-term rebuild. Having Love’s shooting and post presence on the floor should help young pieces such as Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman and others in their development.
His body of work (18.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game for his career, per Basketball Reference) does speak for itself, anyhow, and he can still help the Cavs in the coming years.
Nonetheless, the aforementioned Zucker summed up just how Love and Cleveland will probably have to be together in the coming years, either way, given how he won’t likely command much on the trade market.
"“Strictly from a pragmatic standpoint, the Cavs have no reason to jettison Love now. His durability was already a question mark before he underwent surgery to address a toe injury in November. As a result, his trade value is about as low as it’s ever been.”"
Zucker also noted how Cleveland won’t be “major players for top free agents anytime soon, either.”
If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to get something valuable in the coming summer or years for Love (definitely not by the time of this year’s 2019 NBA trade deadline at least), Love will have to show he can be healthy for long stretches and is playing at a relatively efficient level as a double-double threat nearly every night.