I have an honest question. Why does it seem everyone wants Kevin Love?

[JohnBoy65]

So for the people that are anti-Love I pose this. Obviously almost everyone here would love to see the Celtics get some combination of Leonard/Gasol/Butler/Jordan/Aldridge. Unfortunately that's probably not realistic at all.

So, if all of our options are off the table and Kevin Love says I will sign here in Boston you say no thank you?

For how much and how long?

I'm not excited about signing him to a new-max deal (post cap hike) because I don't think he's worth 30% of our salary space.

That's the question everyone has. A max deal this summer. We are about to strike out with big name FA's this summer and he's willing to take a max deal this summer. Do you do it?

[ThePoeticWolf]

So for the people that are anti-Love I pose this. Obviously almost everyone here would love to see the Celtics get some combination of Leonard/Gasol/Butler/Jordan/Aldridge. Unfortunately that's probably not realistic at all.

So, if all of our options are off the table and Kevin Love says I will sign here in Boston you say no thank you?

I'm not anti-Love, I just think there are better options first for us that fit our needs more.  I do like his game on the offensive end but I hate that he doesn't seem to play defense.  I think he wants to play for us, yes I'd sign him but no he's not a max level salary guy to me. 

[D.o.s.]

So for the people that are anti-Love I pose this. Obviously almost everyone here would love to see the Celtics get some combination of Leonard/Gasol/Butler/Jordan/Aldridge. Unfortunately that's probably not realistic at all.

So, if all of our options are off the table and Kevin Love says I will sign here in Boston you say no thank you?

For how much and how long?

I'm not excited about signing him to a new-max deal (post cap hike) because I don't think he's worth 30% of our salary space.

That's the question everyone has. A max deal this summer. We are about to strike out with big name FA's this summer and he's willing to take a max deal this summer. Do you do it?

A five year max this summer? I do it no questions asked -- his raise is dependent on the first year of his salary, which is dependent on the percentage of the cap at the time he signs it.\

What I don't do is sign him to a one year deal this summer, which is what he'll want, assuming he opts out.

[gpap]

I really don't think we should go after either. Love doesn't fit stevens offense he doesn't work as a catch and shoot player as he has showed this year and I don't feel like we should waste the cap to upgrade a position that isn't a priority for us. The center and SF spot should come first before upgrading any other parts. Plus Sully put up 14/8 this year that's not shabby for playing center half of those mins so do we want to break the bank for a player who averages 4 pts and 3 rbs more a game but comes with the same defensive problems??

I think the goal should be to acquire good talent, not worry about whether or not they "fit into" Steven's "offense."

If Lebron wanted to come to Boston, would we ask "hmmmm but I don't know how he would fit into Steven's game plan?"

[gpap]

We have a power forward that spaces the floor, and isn't that good at defense. There seems to be a big group of people on here that want to keep Kelly around. Kevin Love is 5 times as good as Kelly. So why all the hate for Kevin Love?

The Celtics aren't in position to be picky with signing big time free agents. If Kevin Love would sign here the Celtics need to act.

Based STRICTLY on PER (which I don't like) Kevin Love is the 13th best PF in the NBA this year.

1   Anthony Davis
2   Pau Gasol
3   LaMarcus Aldridge
4   Blake Griffin
5   Derrick Favors
6   Tim Duncan
7   Greg Monroe
8   Brandan Wright
9   Ed Davis
10   Paul Millsap
11   Zach Randolph
12   Dirk Nowitzki
13    Kevin Love

If you do these ratings based on overall players he obviously moves ahead of Wright and Davis. At this point in his career I think he's better than Dirk. You could make an argument for 1 or 2 more.

So the point, and my honest question, why does everyone NOT want to sign a top 10 PF in the NBA?

Source:http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics/_/position/pf

Well said.

How there can be a large contingent of people who like Olynyk but don't want Love is beyond me.

[Who]

Because ...

Kevin Love is (for my money) the 2nd most skilled (offensively speaking) big man in the league. He is a good individual scorer and an excellent team offense player. Love is also one of the best rebounding PFs in the league.

Kevin Love is a lousy defender. One of the worst PFs defensively in the league. Both in terms of one-on-one defense and team defense.

Overall, Kevin Love adds a lot more to his team with his offense + rebounding than he takes away with his bad defense. More of a 2nd option than a true #1 guy, I reckon.

[gpap]

Love was a great player on a bad team, now he's average on a good team. We have players like this.

No, not really. We do not have a player of Love's caliber on our team right now. If so, I'd love for you to name who it is.

[gpap]

I still want Love, and I'm still a huge avid fan of him. Has anyone ever watched Cavs games?

I have, and I would not touch him with a ten foot pole.   Poor defender who requires other to compensate for him a great deal.   Want to bet he wilts some under the playoffs?  I live in Ohio and I would not touch him with a ten foot pole.   Blatt often benches him late in games and Love is not always in there when the game is finished.   I call BS, Monkhouse.

Sometimes, I think main reason guys are goo goo over Love is he is white.  I much rather have Aldridge than Love.   8 more PPG, more blocks and more rebounds.  He has also shown he can will his way to win in the playoff in a series.   Love has shown the ability to will some stats on a bad team.

http://stats.nba.com/vs/#!/?PlayerID=201567&VsPlayerID=200746&range=2008&range=2014

Love would be ok as a final piece, but is you use him as foundation to build on, then you have to have that defensive center to compensate for his weakness on D.  So in a sense, he locks down two slots.

I am going to be laughing when he goes to LA, because at the end of day it will hurt LA.

By far, the stupidest thing I've ever read!!

[Monkhouse]

I still want Love, and I'm still a huge avid fan of him. Has anyone ever watched Cavs games?

I have, and I would not touch him with a ten foot pole.   Poor defender who requires other to compensate for him a great deal.   Want to bet he wilts some under the playoffs?  I live in Ohio and I would not touch him with a ten foot pole.   Blatt often benches him late in games and Love is not always in there when the game is finished.   I call BS, Monkhouse.

Sometimes, I think main reason guys are goo goo over Love is he is white.  I much rather have Aldridge than Love.   8 more PPG, more blocks and more rebounds.  He has also shown he can will his way to win in the playoff in a series.   Love has shown the ability to will some stats on a bad team.

http://stats.nba.com/vs/#!/?PlayerID=201567&VsPlayerID=200746&range=2008&range=2014

Love would be ok as a final piece, but is you use him as foundation to build on, then you have to have that defensive center to compensate for his weakness on D.  So in a sense, he locks down two slots.

I am going to be laughing when he goes to LA, because at the end of day it will hurt LA.

By far, the stupidest thing I've ever read!!

Agreed! Can't believe he wrote something like that. Someone once wrote that Gordon Hayward was only popular around BOS, cause of his race, despite the fact Hayward is definitely making a case for Most Improved Player.

Either way Love is still a top 10 PF, and him scoring 16/10 trumps anyone we have on our roster.

[gpap]

There are a lot of positives with Kevin Love.  He's an excellent passer, rebounder, and shooter.  He can play offense on the perimeter or from the post. 

There are downsides, too.  His defense is weak, and at least anecdotally, he looks like a guy who prefers to "get his" rather than blending in to a winning team.  He's got a history of being standoffish with teammates, and he's got some injury issues that are worth monitoring. 

Ideally, Kevin Love is your second or third best player, kind of like on the Cavs.  Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to accept that role willingly. 

Ultimately, I'm undecided whether I'd sign him to a max contract.  For talent alone, you probably have to.  However, I don't think he's the type of player who will ever carry his team to a championship as a #1 option.

I think I speak for all those that want Love here that we don't expect him to be the ONLY option on the team.

He would need another star player beside him, but he be a HUGE step in the right direction.

[gpap]

Why do I want Kevin Love to join the C's
1. He is an upgrade at the pf position
2. His ability to space the floor fits the way the Celtics want to play offensively
3. people are making the mistake of thinking about how would Love would fit around the current players, but none of our current players are good enough for the C's to try and build around. Love is the type of foundational player you build around and attract other free agents with.

He doesn't attract other free agents, if that was the case when he was putting up huge numbers, players would have flown to the T-Wolves.  Yes, he's an upgrade over Sully, but wouldn't you rather a true center and a true small forward instead of one upgrade.  Since Sully averages close to 15 a game, and close to 9 rebounds a game.  Love only put up crazy scoring numbers cause he had to be the do all.  Any power forward putting up 15 and 9 and great in the NBA.

This, I can agree with.

If we can acquire a better SF like Leonard, Luol Deng or Tobias Harris and then a REAL center like Robin Lopez, Omer Asik or Greg Monroe (though he's also a PF) then yes, getting Love is less of a need.  I left out Gasol and Jordan because I don't expect to sign either guy.

However, Sully would have to get his fat as* into shape