Pros and cons of rumored Cavs trade with Hornets for Hayward

Rumored Cavs trade for Hayward: Should they do it?

It’s probably fairly obvious which way I am leaning at this point, but let’s summarize the points. Trading Kevin Love for Gordon Hayward, provided the draft capital involved is relatively mild, would swap a backup center for a starting small forward. It would cost the Cavs some size at a position where they have other options, and gain them more positional versatility given Hayward’s ability to guard 3s and 4s.

They would lose Love’s valuable skillset as a stretch-5 who can rebound and pass but would gain Hayward’s on-ball creation and scoring skills. Love’s defensive shortcomings meant he rarely closed games for the Cavs, while Hayward would absolutely close for Cleveland. Adding Hayward would mean committing money for the 2023-24 season, but any financial flexibility would be used to chase a player of Hayward’s caliber and convince them to move to Cleveland.

Finally, Hayward has a checkered injury past, but perhaps not that much worse than Love’s own injury record. Add it all up and the Cavs seem to be gaining a lot more than they are losing in such a deal.

Losing Kevin Love would be painful; he is a beloved franchise icon who really bought into what the Cavs were doing last season. Even so, trading him for Gordon Hayward would significantly improve this team and specifically in areas of weakness. This deal is a clear one to target this offseason.

Verdict: Do the trade