OT: Kevin Love to Cavs
August 7th, 2014 at 10:25 AM ^
August 7th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^
I agree about Wiggins being a star. Worst case scenario, that kid is a defensive stopper who you could put on the other team's best 1-4 player instead of LeBron and allowed LeBron to use less energy and extend his career. I really feel like in 3-4 years, they're going to wish they had Wiggins.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^
But in 6-7 years, LeBron will be on the verge of retirement.
That's what's relevant here: maximizing the window that the best player in the league has left.
Much like Peyton Manning, LeBron is the centerpiece of the effort. The Cavs are trying to win right now.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^
Agreed on Cav's strategy. Wiggins is not guaranteed to be anything in the league, and I don't have the same confidence that he'll end up a star as I was when I first watched Kobe and Lebron at similar ages.
August 7th, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^
if he ends up a smidge below LeBron and Kobe, I think the Timberwolves will be okay with that.
August 7th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
Love is a top five player in the NBA? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!
Go ahead and name five better. KD, CP3 and LeBron are obvious, I'd argue anybody else you say is more talented than him. Curry? Also doesn't play D. Kobe? Old, injured. Westbrook? Can't shoot, turnover prone. Harden/Dwight? Nah. Melo? Great scorer, does nothing else. Anthony Davis isn't there yet, but looks like he will be. Rose? Been three years since he really played. I stand by Love being a top 5 player.
and keep all those assets, they had to trade for Love to get his Bird Rights which allows them to go over the cap to sign him.
No they wouldn't have. They wouldn't have had the cap space to sign him without giving up the exact same assets they gave up.
It probably would have taken given up Haywood, Wiggins or Waiters, Bennett in the offseason. The only real pro is seeing whihc player you like better of Waiters/Wiggins
August 7th, 2014 at 10:25 AM ^
I'm probably in the minority, but if there was anyway Cleveland could've swung this trade for Love without giving up Kyrie, Wiggins, or Thompson (EDIT: or LeBron, obv), LeBron would've surpassed Jordan in titles.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^
Lebron may pass Jordan in titles simply because he jumps ship when he sees adversity and then tries to stack the deck. He's a phenomenal talent and will be considered a top five player of all time when it's all said and done. I would put him below Jordan (who was pyschopathic as a player). Lebron is also below Kobe (who I absolutely hate) in terms of overall career, but he'll pass Kobe in the future.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
August 7th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
August 7th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^
Giving up: 31 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in game 5?
August 7th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
Some people (mostly MJ superfans) hate him. Its like how people sent death threats to Maris in the run up to breaking Ruth's record. It isn't logical, and you can't reason with them.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:38 AM ^
"I'm probably in the minority, but if there was anyway Cleveland could've swung this trade for Love without giving up Kyrie, Wiggins, or Thompson"
That would have been impossible.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^
Bennett, Waiters, and 2 #1s is still way, way better of an offer than anything Minnesota reportedly had coming from anyone else.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
August 7th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
Are you a Wolves fan? Have you seen the other offers they were receiving for Love? They werent even close to the return that this Cavs deal brings. Not even remotely sure what you would be waiting on, the Warriors to give up Klay Thompson? With Love Minnesota is competing for a 7th or 8th seed and the right to get blasted in a 1st round series.
Now Minnesota has a really talented young core of players. This actually gives them a solid future outlook with multiple kids with the potential to become really good players. I would take that 10 times out of 10 compared to competing for a low playoff seed.
Which is also a reason being a Pistons fan is so frustrating -- the way they seem to strive for mediocrity.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
Minnesota knew they had what the Cavs and Lebron wanted. Therefore, they raised their prices for Love accordingly. They weren't going to trade for anything less than Wiggins or Irving.
There were other teams in play for Love too, most notably Golden State.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:57 AM ^
Golden State's package was less impressive than Waiters, Bennett + 2 1s, imho.
Minnesota wasn't letting Love leave for nothing. It may have been at the trade deadline instead off the off-season, but he wasn't finishing that contract there no matter how paltry the offers were.
August 7th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^
not sure why Klay Thompson became virtually untouchable. I'll take Wiggins upside to Thompson everyday.
one would always take the lesser but known quality over the potential upside. I appreciate it is always a judgment call but sometimes the upside is worth risk. And yea, I don't think Thompson is a guaranteed All-Star--if I thought otherwise, I might feel differently about the comparison. And Wiggins will be a better defender than Thompson from day 1.
And I didn't miss your patronizing "recruiting web site" shot.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:28 AM ^
August 7th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^
Here's NBC's piece on the subject - (LINK)
Per Adrian Wojnarowski - "Cleveland is making the deal with Minnesota with a firm agreement Love will opt out of his contract in 2015 and re-sign with the Cavaliers on a five-year, $120 million-plus contract extension, league sources told Yahoo Sports."
The value of a max contract, per the article, will not be officially known until we actually know the salary cap figures for the 2015-16 season, but per projections, it is about $108 million.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:36 AM ^
The more they make LeBron do in the regular season, the tougher it'll be on him later. Nobody else (except a couple bit role players) has ANY playoff experience and that matters a lot in the NBA.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^
Plus Verajo and Irving are quite injury prone. Anderson has averaged about 35 games a year for the past 4 season. Add about 20-25 playoff games and it doesnt look too promising. And Kyrie has had his share of breaks and surgeries and hasnt played in a big game in the NBA and not really in college either. We shall see but the east is weak enough for them to make the finals
August 7th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
Basketball is the one sport where a superstar (or two) can make all the difference. Cavs have a lot of attractive complementary pieces. Injuries may be an issue, but that's the same with every team including the Bulls who are probably the Cav's primary competition in the East.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^
I like the idea of their complimentary players, but none of their young guys have played a meaningful game. Tristian Thompson is young, so is Waiters and he's sort of a headcase. They have a talented group of players but they are largely unproven and I think that playing with Lebron will help them. Adding NBA champs Ray Allen, Shawn Marion and Mike Miller will help the young guys too but they still need to play some important games first. I think it will play out like Miami's first year with the big 3 where they make the finals but fall short then are ready to win some championships after that.
August 7th, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^
Would love to see Cavs v thunder and have MCGary breakout in finals.
Yes, you are right that they are the favorite in the east, but that's bc it's not very competitive. There's only one other team they have to be concerned about, but the Bulls could be very good and most of them have played together for a few seasons. At least for the first season, I think the Bulls will be better than Cleveland if Rose is healthy
August 7th, 2014 at 11:38 AM ^
I think a superstar can get you to the playoffs and maybe the ECF, but this team is relying on LeBron to turn Irving and Love into much better all-around players than they've shown so far in their careers, and I'm dubious he'll be able to do it.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
can't just trade their 2015 draft choice. They had to "protect" it in case they miss the playoffs and win the lottery again.
August 7th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
I think the pick had to be "protected" because they had already traded away their 2016 pick to get rid of Jack, which means that they can't trade their unprotected 2015 pick unless they have another guaranteed 2015 first round pick, which they don't. They had to add some level of "protection" that deals with the consequences of not being able to trade their 2015 pick.
They own 3 draft picks ... they gave up the pick the got from Miami back when LeBron left in 2010.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:31 AM ^
August 7th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
The best offer I heard reported was Taj, Mirotic, and Butler, but that was apparently a fake offer leaked by the Wolves.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
That's a good trade for Minny. Love is a great offensive player with mediocre defensive game. I know people keep looking at the stats with him and they are impressive, but who on that team other than LeBron and Varejao are even average defenders? I mean, Kyrie could be a good defender but hasn't shown it, and maybe Waiters if he can get his head out of his butt. But that team isn't going to slow people down with Love at the 4/5, and they've basically traded away any good young players who could turn into solid defenders down the line.
I know LeBron wants to win now, but the Cavs look like a regular season team that will win 50+ games and then flame out in the playoffs when they can't stop good offenses.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^
look out for my Pacers this year! With our starting line up, it's not unreasonable to think that we could average 82-85 PPG this year. Who can top that?!
August 7th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^
Now all the Heat bandwagon passengers are gonna jump on the Cavs. For the record, Lebron will not surpass Kobe, let alone MJ, for championship rings.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:38 AM ^
Gave up too much. Won't work out. LOL, Cleveland.
How do you figure?
They essentially swapped Bennett for Kevin Love. All they gave up was Wiggins. I mean, if you figure Love isn't worth Wiggins potential then I can see that and they still have 2 first round picks in next years draft.