Pros and cons of rumored Cavs trade with Hornets for Hayward

One year ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers were in something of a tough spot. They were significantly cash-strapped and throwing money and draft resources at bigs even though they had Kevin Love‘s contract on the books for $31.3 million. When Love couldn’t even stay healthy enough to play in the Olympics, the Cavs’ shot at trading him anywhere evaporated.

Then the season began, and Love bought into his role as a backup and a veteran mentor. The Cavs still had too much money committed to bigs, but they made it work by starting Lauri Markkanen at the 3. Even so, the financial imbalance of their two most expensive players both being centers hurt as a lack of depth elsewhere reared its head throughout the season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been connected with Gordon Hayward in trade rumors. What are the pros and cons of trading Kevin Love for Hayward?

Coming into the offseason, the strong play of Love last season has recouped much of his value leaguewide, and given that he is now on an expiring contract the Cavs can feasibly move him in a trade. That’s not saying they will or even want to, but it’s now an option on the table, especially as matching salary for a highly-paid player who can help fill some of this team’s gaps elsewhere on the positional spectrum.

One potential trade target is Gordon Hayward of the Charlotte Hornets. Mike Scotto of HoopsHype and Cavaliers beat writer Chris Fedor recently discussed trade candidates for the Cavs and brought up Hayward as a possibility. Scotto wrote “They value Hayward…he’s a solid veteran presence who helps round out that roster. I think he’d be a great fit for Cleveland overall.”

Is Scotto right? Would Hayward be a great fit in Cleveland, and would it be worth moving Love and some sort of draft capital to bring Hayward in? Let’s look at the pros and cons of such a move and then decide if the Cavs should pull the trigger for such a deal if it is ever on the table.