Really hard to imagine Kevin Love staying in Cleveland

[kozlodoev]

Cavs will offer him the max but sure he leaves for LA or NY. He can sign a deal with an opt-out then cash in with new TV cap for $. Cavs blew it with Love. I think he is a great fit yet they just don't go to him enough to satisfy him as a competitor.

He's such a great "competitor" that he'll bolt the second-best team in the East to join the worst team in the East or the second-worst team in the West.

Yup, makes perfect sense. 

[D Dub]

is Lebron the greatest passive-competitor of all time?

looking back on his career, its interesting how he maintained his alpha-all-star status, to an extent, by getting his biggest advisories to join him.  Almost like removing your opponents pieces from the chessboard before the game starts.  First Wade & Bosh, then Ray Allen, and now he's on to the next generation of threats with Kyrie & Love. 

[kozlodoev]

is Lebron the greatest passive-competitor of all time?

looking back on his career, its interesting how he maintained his alpha-all-star status, to an extent, by getting his biggest advisories to join him.  Almost like removing your opponents pieces from the chessboard before the game starts.  First Wade & Bosh, then Ray Allen, and now he's on to the next generation of threats with Kyrie & Love.

Wade, Bosh, Allen, Irving, Love... all second bananas and/or players in decline. Please. Call me when he gets Anthony Davis or Stephen Curry to join.

[Csfan1984]

Cavs will offer him the max but sure he leaves for LA or NY. He can sign a deal with an opt-out then cash in with new TV cap for $. Cavs blew it with Love. I think he is a great fit yet they just don't go to him enough to satisfy him as a competitor.

He's such a great "competitor" that he'll bolt the second-best team in the East to join the worst team in the East or the second-worst team in the West.

Yup, makes perfect sense. 

Personal success/stats are important to some competitors. Especially pro NBA players.

[celticsclay]

Cavs will offer him the max but sure he leaves for LA or NY. He can sign a deal with an opt-out then cash in with new TV cap for $. Cavs blew it with Love. I think he is a great fit yet they just don't go to him enough to satisfy him as a competitor.

He's such a great "competitor" that he'll bolt the second-best team in the East to join the worst team in the East or the second-worst team in the West.

Yup, makes perfect sense. 

Do we really think that the Knicks will be the worst team in the East next year? They will be most likely adding Okafor/Towns to Carmelo and will have all the cap space in the world. I don't see why they wouldn't be able to add at least 1 max free agent or two near max free agents to that core. I do think playing in New York has more allure for players than Boston, especially when it comes to players looking to build their brand. I also think Love could be talked pretty easily into how much better Jackson/Fisher would utilize him than how he is being used in Cleveland.

[Csfan1984]

is Lebron the greatest passive-competitor of all time?

looking back on his career, its interesting how he maintained his alpha-all-star status, to an extent, by getting his biggest advisories to join him.  Almost like removing your opponents pieces from the chessboard before the game starts.  First Wade & Bosh, then Ray Allen, and now he's on to the next generation of threats with Kyrie & Love.

Wade, Bosh, Allen, Irving, Love... all second bananas and/or players in decline. Please. Call me when he gets Anthony Davis or Stephen Curry to join.

Not in their minds is what poster meant. They all have shown the desire and attitude to be the man. But all gave in to LeBron eventually.

[celticsclay]

Remember when Boozer bolted on Cleveland?

Hahahahaha.

It's still Cleveland. Nobody really wants to be there.

One could say Ilgauskus, not many come to mind though personally...

Correct.


On the other hand, like Who's said, there's not a good alternative.

Boozer went to Salt Lake City.  I mean come on.  He clearly didn't leave because he didn't want to be in Cleveland and then he goes to Salt Lake.  It was all about the money with him.  Everyone knows that.

Cleveland is a pretty nice place to live actually.  A lot of guys that end up playing here, actually live here when their careers are done.

Really? Like who?

[jpotter33]

I will be surprised if Love is not in Cleveland next season.  I will also be surprised if he is there the following year.

I think this is more in line with the correct way of thinking.  Certainly makes sense financially.

So you don't think someone like the Celtics could steal him with an offer of a one year max and a year to prove he's worth a gigantic paycheck in 2016? I'm not quite as sold on that as others here. I think he'll definitely give some other teams a look if they offer something like that.

[jpotter33]

Cavs will offer him the max but sure he leaves for LA or NY. He can sign a deal with an opt-out then cash in with new TV cap for $. Cavs blew it with Love. I think he is a great fit yet they just don't go to him enough to satisfy him as a competitor.

He's such a great "competitor" that he'll bolt the second-best team in the East to join the worst team in the East or the second-worst team in the West.

Yup, makes perfect sense. 

Do we really think that the Knicks will be the worst team in the East next year? They will be most likely adding Okafor/Towns to Carmelo and will have all the cap space in the world. I don't see why they wouldn't be able to add at least 1 max free agent or two near max free agents to that core. I do think playing in New York has more allure for players than Boston, especially when it comes to players looking to build their brand. I also think Love could be talked pretty easily into how much better Jackson/Fisher would utilize him than how he is being used in Cleveland.

I'm not sure on this. With the rumors from last year, it sounded like Love really loved the Boston management and organization, which is something that we're way ahead of New York on. Furthermore, Jackson/Fisher have been nothing but a mess so far, and I think someone like Love can see that. I understand the brand development argument, but other than that I don't see New York as a huge suitor as of right now, which very well could change.

Unfortunately, I think New York wants to win right now, and if they land the top pick they very well could make a play for DMC or some other disgruntled star. I think they would much rather deal the pick for a star now than try to develop him.

[CFAN38]

Im convinced that he will be a laker next year. This will cause an interesting shake up with the Cavs trying to fill the void at PF.

I cant see him joining the with with Carmelo. They are a terrible combination.

I would put the odds at

60% Laker

35% Cav

2% Celtics

2% Knicks

1%other

[celticsclay]

I will be surprised if Love is not in Cleveland next season.  I will also be surprised if he is there the following year.

I think this is more in line with the correct way of thinking.  Certainly makes sense financially.

If love plays there for two years and they win 1 championship is it a good trade if Wiggins is a perennial all star for the next 12 years and wins 1 mvp?

[zubi.anaba]

NOrmaly never post but seriously there is so much wrong with this post

Curious what other people on the board think. Obviously the Cavs have a really legit chance at the Championship and that can have some allure for Love, especially if they win. However, it becomes increasingly hard to imagine him wanting to stay in Cleveland long term as a spot of 3 pt specialist. Today was another ho-hum day with the Cavs and his roll. He got up 12 shots, 8 of them 3 pointers and had 4 rebounds in 31 minutes.

Down game against an athletic frontline (NOah/Taj) which he struggles against. It happens

He was 4th on the team in minutes behind Smith, Lebron and Kyrie and also 4th in shot attempts.

NOt surprising given he just got back from injury. Infact he has had back issues all season long

I think he is too talented a player to not utilize any of his back to the basket game like the Cavs and on the Cavs part it would also be foolish to pay a guy maximum dollars to shoot some 3's and remove in defensive situations.

With how much you hear about Loves back to the basket game, you would think he was Shaq down there. LOve has always struggled in the post against Athletic PF with size and length. Its just more apparent now his game is under a microscope. Watch the game and see Cavs got him the ball downlow early alot only for him to get stuffed like 3-4 times. His ace in the hole is his 3 ball given most PF arent comfy on the perimeter. Thats why He shot a ton of 3s. AGain it was always been that way in Minny ( avge almost 8 3s a game last season) when he went up against athletic PFs but noone ever noticed because his game was as scrutinized as it is now. There are tons of clips showing Cavs Integrating Love more and more into their offense

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjDrWT3D2Ro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXNJxpcm5Jo

He is also a really good rebounder, but can't even battle for boards cause he is out by the 3 point line.

Nice to cherry pick one game to reflect the entire season. You do know he is avg 10rppg this season right???Even Bosh never did that in Miami!!! His rebounding is fine

The only real reason I could see the Cavs justifying paying Love max dollars is because they gave up Wiggins to get him and trading him for year of Love would go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history. However digging down and doubling when you have made a decision doesn't usually leave to good results. Thoughts?

LOve being on the floor without even touching the ball pulls opposing PF out of the paint opening up the Lane for Lebron and Kyrie to attack. Cavs would be imbeciles to not give give the max because his skillset is so unique and not repalceable (Certainly not with the money they will have).  Now if he decides he has no interest in Legitimately competing for a Title then thats up to him but this is the same guy that hasnt made PO his whole career and talked about sweeping the floor if he could make it to the NBA finals!! You really think he wants to waste more years of his prime on a losing team.

Cavs will give him the max. He already has back issues so will want guaranteed money. I highly doubt he is leaving.

[GetLucky]

Entering Wednesday’s Memphis game, Love had the second highest raw +/- in the entire NBA (10.8 ) dating back to Jan. 15. James was No. 1 (11.4). If your a little unfamiliar with +/-, it’s a stat that shows how good your team is when you’re on the floor. Basically, did your team score more than your opponent. Think of it as WAR for the NBA. For comparisons sake, MVP candidate Steph Curry owns the third best +/- (10.2).

And what about the frustrated James? When he and Love are on the court together, James shoots  about FIVE PERCENT better from the field, and his assist to turnover ratio is better than 2:1!  When Love’s off the floor,  it’s 1:1.

http://factoryofsadness.co/2015/03/26/stats-should-debunk-latest-lebron-james-kevin-love-rumor/
This is an excerpt from the Cavs' fan site (I believe an SB nation one).

EDIT: to clarify, factory of sadness is not a Cavs site. It is a site that took an excerpt from a Cavs site.

[Csfan1984]

Im convinced that he will be a laker next year. This will cause an interesting shake up with the Cavs trying to fill the void at PF.

I cant see him joining the with with Carmelo. They are a terrible combination.

I would put the odds at

60% Laker

35% Cav

2% Celtics

2% Knicks

1%other

Not bad way of doing it. I think Love would be great in the triangle and he would love NY. Triangle needs a good big man. Cavs win it all I say.
45/35/2/18
Not winning
60/15/5/20

[celticsclay]

Wow so much wrong with this post had to respond!



Down game against an athletic frontline (NOah/Taj) which he struggles against. It happens

Last  8 games he is averaging 8.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in about 30 minutes a game. This stretch includes games against good, bad and terrible teams with varying frontline skills. To act like this is a one game outlier and he hasn't been struggling statistically is ridiculous.

I think he is too talented a player to not utilize any of his back to the basket game like the Cavs and on the Cavs part it would also be foolish to pay a guy maximum dollars to shoot some 3's and remove in defensive situations.

He is also a really good rebounder, but can't even battle for boards cause he is out by the 3 point line.

Nice to cherry pick one game to reflect the entire season. You do know he is avg 10rppg this season right???Even Bosh never did that in Miami!!! His rebounding is fine

His rebounding has been declining pretty steadily for the 2 months going from a high of 11.1 in January to 9.7 in February to 8.8 in March. That is not cherry picking it is a decline over a 3rd of the season. This could be attributed to his back injury, but you say he has been battling that all season.

The only real reason I could see the Cavs justifying paying Love max dollars is because they gave up Wiggins to get him and trading him for year of Love would go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history. However digging down and doubling when you have made a decision doesn't usually leave to good results. Thoughts?

LOve being on the floor without even touching the ball pulls opposing PF out of the paint opening up the Lane for Lebron and Kyrie to attack. Cavs would be imbeciles to not give give the max because his skillset is so unique and not repalceable (Certainly not with the money they will have).  Now if he decides he has no interest in Legitimately competing for a Title then thats up to him but this is the same guy that hasnt made PO his whole career and talked about sweeping the floor if he could make it to the NBA finals!! You really think he wants to waste more years of his prime on a losing team.

Sorry a guy a big than can launch 3's is not that unique, especially at 36% for the season. While I realize Channing Frye is over paid for his skillset (as is Ryan Anderson). A big that can stretch the floor at that percentage is hardly unique. If you really want me to bother posting a bunch of big men that can shoot 36% from 3 I will.

Cavs will give him the max. He already has back issues so will want guaranteed money. I highly doubt he is leaving.
[/quote]

This could be argued both ways. If he really is concerned about his back. Would he want to risk it getting injured next year and not signing the longest contract he could this offseason?