What Is Kevin Love's Trade Value?

[indeedproceed]

So we've seen some trades floating around for Kevin Love lately, and he's hot like hansel now, so what exactly is his trade value?

Is he untouchable? He is in a lot of ways a flawed player, as well as being an elite rebounder, gifted scorer, and one of the best outlet passers in basketball.

He's only 22, but at 6'9ish (he's listed 6'10, but doubtful) he's a bit small too. He's a good high-post player but lacks a real post game and player poor defense against good 4's.

So what is this guy's value?

Jumping off point:

NJ Trades: Troy Murphy, Derrick Favors, 2011 NJ 1st, 2011 LA 1st, 2012 Golden State 1st, 2013 NJ 1st

Minny Trades: Darko, Beasley, Kevin Love

[Chris]

Incredibly high.  I have a feeling he is one of the most untradable players in the league at the moment.  Kahn likes to take risks, but he would be tarred and feathered if he traded Love for anyone short of Lebron James right now.  

And let me clarify, I don't think his trade value should be that high at the moment.  But given the situation in Minnesota, and his current hype level, I just think his value to the franchise in fan hope is much higher than his actual value.

Of course in a couple years, when he is balking at signing an extension, everything could change.

[indeedproceed]

Incredibly high. 

And let me clarify, I don't think his trade value should be that high at the moment.  But given the situation in Minnesota, and his current hype level, I just think his value to the franchise in fan hope is much higher than his actual value.

Yes. This.

Even getting back the trade above, which gets NJ out from under Darko's contract (which they're regreting right now) and also netting them Favors , two likely lotto picks, and 4 overall draft choices, they'd never say yes to that.

Love is jumping the shark right now. He's a rebound monster, an elite big man passer, and a serviceable offensive player on a good team. He's never going to be an elite defender though (although I'm sure he could be a good team defender)

[Fafnir]

He's definitely overvalued at this point. The good news is that the Timberwolves should be awful for the next few years and they could potentially get an elite talent in the lottery. Love could be very valuable as the third or fourth best player on his team.

But when he's your best player, yuck.

[slamtheking]

the value is relative.

Asking Price: very high for Minnie.  Need to get a player that's an all-star that can serve as a legit face of the franchise. 

Buyer's offer: his worth is borderline all-star or a couple of good players and pretty decent draft pick.  He's got a very strong skill and a couple of other decent skills but he's not polished offensively and definitely not a quality defender. 

In short, he's going nowhere until he's eligible for free agency

[wdleehi]

He is a slightly bigger David Lee.


He is a better rebounder, but not as good as a shooter.



Look at Lee's numbers when he was the only option in NY like Love is the only option in Minn.



He is a number 2 or 3 offensive player that need a strong defensive partner.  



If I was Min, I would jump at that trade because

1) NJ would have given away all of it's trading pieces.

2) They would be a lotto team for a few years (along with GS)

[Snakehead]

No chance he is traded and I don't think he is underrated like some either.  Not really any way to knock his rebounding ability and he is a very good spot up three shooter.  The defense and rest of his offense will come.

He is a complimentary player but still a star.  Just because he isn't a scorer doesn't mean he isn't extremely valuable.  A guy who is already this good of a rebounder and not by virtue of his athleticism is a great piece.  And on a team with a couple of other stars he can get plenty of open jumpers and that can be his offensive bread and butter.  I don't see why he can't be a solid defender, he plays on an bad team so I won't judge his defense much yet.

He will be a FAR better player than David Lee in the future I think.  David Lee is a good rebounder but Love is maybe the NBA's best rebounder right now and though Lee is a better overall shooter now, Love can shoot threes and I'm sure the rest of his shooting is just a season or two away.  He is also a great passer (especially his famous outlet), while Lee is fine but not of Love's caliber.  Plenty of upside with Love.


All that said I wouldn't offer him a max contract, though wouldn't be surprised if someone did.  It'll be interesting to see what he does because he will be much more successful taking a pay cut and going to a good team rather than trying to be a cornerstone, which he is not.  He will be a top of the line complimentary player though.

[indeedproceed]

David Lee is a good rebounder but Love is maybe the NBA's best rebounder right now.

I disagree, but he's one of the best.

He's not the best because his team puts no emphasis on getting back. he's working for offensive boards every single possession.

On top of that he's stealing boards from teammates once and a while. He literally gets after every single board, even if another teammate could easily get it. You'll never see Kevin Love do that thing where he jumps but the ball is already going towards his own guy, so he draws his hands back.

That said, he's a heck of a rebounder.

[Snakehead]

David Lee is a good rebounder but Love is maybe the NBA's best rebounder right now.

I disagree, but he's one of the best.

He's not the best because his team puts no emphasis on getting back. he's working for offensive boards every single possession.

On top of that he's stealing boards from teammates once and a while. He literally gets after every single board, even if another teammate could easily get it. You'll never see Kevin Love do that thing where he jumps but the ball is already going towards his own guy, so he draws his hands back.

That said, he's a heck of a rebounder.

A little confused about who you meant there... I assume you're saying David Lee doesn't steal boards and Kevin Love does?

I'm going to assume that's what you mean and your points are fair and legitimate, but the guy leads the league by so many that I think it's a moot point.  You might be right but if so that is affecting his average by a few boards he can spare. 

And stuff like "stealing" boards from team mates doesn't always need to happen of course but the worst, worst thing to me is when you see guys hold up and wait for the ball to fall instead of going to get the ball and then you see offensive rebounds as a result, either just from hustling to the ground or guys be able to go up near the rim because no one aggressively went for the ball or put themselves in position so going up to the rim would be an over the back situation.  So I wouldn't ever really fault someone for being aggressive, even a little too aggressive, going for boards.

I just read that actually Camby is the leagues best rebounder by percentage.  Just they operate at the slowest pace in the league so his numbers aren't there.  He also has to be up there on the rebounding list even after all these years.

Either way I think Love has to be top 3 and that's just right now.  He will only get better.  I see him and Blake Griffin as our elite rebounders for years to come in the NBA.

[indeedproceed]

A little confused about who you meant there... I assume you're saying David Lee doesn't steal boards and Kevin Love does?

Well David Lee didn't really enter the equation there for me.

My point is that Kevin Love's rebound per game #'s and rebound rates are inflated because 1) he plays on a team that is willing to let him completely dedicate himself to the offensive rebound, and 2) he steals a few boards each game from his teammates.

Love should be around 12.5 in 35 mins or so I think. Still, good. Still awesome. Just not the dominating presence he looks like on paper right now.

I'd argue that Dwight Howard is the NBA's best rebounder though, because he gets back on defense, he doesn't seem to steal boards, and his team is in the bottom half of the league for pace (Minnesota has the highest pace of any team, which = inflated ppg, rpg, and for some inflated steals/blocks).

[davemonsterband]

He's really good but I can't see why anyone would want to build around him, I'd say as much value as what we let Big Al go for.

[StartOrien]

I'll have to go to my go-to Kevin Love argument about inflated numbers.

30 rebounds. 30

[Snakehead]

A little confused about who you meant there... I assume you're saying David Lee doesn't steal boards and Kevin Love does?

Well David Lee didn't really enter the equation there for me.

My point is that Kevin Love's rebound per game #'s and rebound rates are inflated because 1) he plays on a team that is willing to let him completely dedicate himself to the offensive rebound, and 2) he steals a few boards each game from his teammates.

Love should be around 12.5 in 35 mins or so I think. Still, good. Still awesome. Just not the dominating presence he looks like on paper right now.

I'd argue that Dwight Howard is the NBA's best rebounder though, because he gets back on defense, he doesn't seem to steal boards, and his team is in the bottom half of the league for pace (Minnesota has the highest pace of any team, which = inflated ppg, rpg, and for some inflated steals/blocks).

You're right on the inflation to a degree but I do have to agree with Orien at the end of it.  When a guy is grabbing 30 rebounds and sets a TD Garden record the other day you have to disregard the inflation to an extent.  Sure they are playing at a high pace but inflation only counts for so much.  I've seen a number of high paced teams over the recent years and no one on them has had a player put up Love rebounding numbers.

For example I think Steve Nash's assist numbers have seen inflation on a high paced Suns team for years but it doesn't mean he isn't the best passer in the NBA.  He still puts up that 10+ Assists and that's great regardless of pace.

And then there is the whole matchup thing.  I mean BBD had like 2 boards the other day.  Love had more boards than our team for a lot of the game.  There is something to all that, I don't throw it away for pace.

And I know you're still saying he is good, just throwing my opinion out there on that.


Howard is a great rebounder but he does find himself out of position largely because he has to travel all over the paint to block shots on a team where he is the only real defender.  I think he is right up there too rebounding though and if he dedicated himself enough to it he could probably put up with the really high rebounding numbers too.  He already is right up there.

I should say I think Griffin, Love, and Howard then will be our elite rebounders.  Just Griffin and Love can dedicate themselves more to it and do rather than blocking shots.  And though Howard and Griffin are physical freaks, Love is not and does so much with much less.

[StartOrien]

Kidding aside, I can see what IP is saying that his numbers are slightly inflated, but we have to give this kid his due. I think  its one of those things where the stats are SO astonishing that we race to try to figure out how it's possible. In his case, we hear pace and teammates blamed a lot. There's some validity to that, but in the last 30 years there's been no lack of lousy teams who play a fast face and don't get back on defense, and there hasn't been anyone resembling what Kevin Love is doing.

[indeedproceed]

Kidding aside, I can see what IP is saying that his numbers are slightly inflated, but we have to give this kid his due. I think  its one of those things where the stats are SO astonishing that we race to try to figure out how it's possible. In his case, we hear pace and teammates blamed a lot. There's some validity to that, but in the last 30 years there's been no lack of lousy teams who play a fast face and don't get back on defense, and there hasn't been anyone resembling what Kevin Love is doing.

No, I agree with a lot of that. I'm just saying..a ball goes up, Kevin Love and Dwight Howard have an equal shot at it, neither one starts out of position, and you have to choose one of them to get it.

Dwight 9 times outta 10.

Kevin Love simply doesn't have to worry about getting back on defense as much as other premier bigs after a missed shot, he doesn't need to hold up the defense on his shoulders like KG or Dwight does, and he cares enough about getting the board that he doesn't care if Nikola Pekovic goes without.

Because of those things, but more importantly because of a near unsurpassed acumen for knowing where the ball will end up and knowing how to slither in there to get it, Love is giving out too good to be true numbers.

Kevin Love is an elite rebounder in the NBA, but I don't think he's the best.

EDIT: And pace. Pace too. PACE!