Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love is “undoubtedly” a name to watch ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, with several rival teams expressing interest in Love’s expiring contract, a league source told Hoops Wire.
Several opposing GMs told Hoops Wire via text that there is interest in Love, who has fallen out of coach J.B. Bickerstaff‘s rotation.
Trading Love, though, may not be on the Cavs’ radar, as they would have to take back salary in such a deal, sources cautioned. Also, while Love isn’t playing at the moment, there has been “zero” discussion of a potential contract buyout following the deadline, one source said.
Love, 34, is coming off a season in which he was a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year with the rising Cavs. But things have been quite different in 2022-23, as Love has played hard and been a great teammate, but not very productive when healthy.
He is averaging career-lows of 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds, shooting 39 percent from the field. One rival GM told Hoops Wire he wondered if Love is “finally breaking down after all those years of battling near the basket.”
- Players such as Spurs forward Doug McDermott and guard/forward Josh Richardson remain on the radar, but the Cavs may not view either as an upgrade over what they currently have, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
- The same could be said for Mavericks’ guard/forward Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jazz shooting guard Malik Beasley, both also repeatedly linked to the Cavs.
- The Cavs are continuing to discuss wings Caris LeVert and Cedi Osman in trades, as well as injured small forward Dylan Windler, sources said.
- We touched on a hypothetical Osman/McDermott deal last week, which you can read more about here. It’s pretty clear the Cavs are looking for additional perimeter shooting.
- But again, there aren’t a whole lot of moves out there that would move the need for Cleveland. As one rival GM told Hoops Wire, the Cavs’ big trade came before the season, when they acquired star guard Donovan Mitchell from the Jazz.
- As we relayed here, the Cavs remain “strongly interested” in Trail Blazers guard/forward Josh Hart. But if Cavs fans think LeVert or Osman are wildly inconsistent, well, Hart is often the same.
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