Since
LeBron James announced that he would be coming home, there has been increased speculation that the
Cleveland Cavaliers would make a deal to acquire
Minnesota Timberwolves forward
Kevin Love. Of course, any such deal would likely
have to incude No.1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins as the centerpiece.
With Cavs coach David Blatt saying that
Wiggins won't be traded, it would appear the Cavs won't be Love's ultimate landing spot.
And according to 12 NBA GMs polled by ESPN Insider Jeff Goodman, the Cavaliers are making the right call by choosing Wiggins over Love. Seven of the 12 said they wouldn't trade Wiggins for Love.
Here are what some of the GMs on Team Wiggins had to say:
"Kevin is a perimeter big," added one coach. "He needs to have the ball on multiple possessions to be really effective. It will be very difficult for a first-year coach to divide possessions between LeBron, Kyrie and Love."
"Wiggins is going to be really good in time," added an NBA general manager. "Right now he can shoot and defend. Playing off LeBron and Kyrie [Irving] will take a lot of the pressure off him in the present. He could become a go-to scorer in a few years."
"I feel like Wiggins may only be a year or so away from being a legit contributor," one front-office executive said. "And Wiggins is cheap, so you are able to add more. Love is gonna cost a ton."
And here are what some of the GMs on Team Love had to say:
"Why wait on Wiggins when Love makes them better now," one assistant GM said. "And if you don't get Love now, he's going to be a Laker next summer."
"Without a doubt. Cleveland would be a top-five team in the NBA and the top team in the East -- with Chicago and Indiana a close second and third," an NBA exec said.
"Cleveland becomes the favorite to win it all with the trio of LeBron, Kyrie and Love. With Wiggins, it's going to take time. Sure, he'll give you a terrific defender -- but now you have that with LeBron."
There is merit to the idea that Love would take up a ton of both cap space and touches. Both James and Irving are high usage players and that doesn't mention Dion Waiters. And with Love, the Cavs would be close to being capped out in the future and then be tasked with the year-to-year challenge of finding role players that fit on cheap contracts.
Of course, you wouldn't be wrong to suggest that dealing for Love is the right move either. He would give the Cavaliers three stars near or in their prime. If the Cavs are trying to win it all next season, then it would be hard to argue that Love wouldn't the move to make.
"Bennetts been looking so much better". It's fkin summer league wtf gtfoh with this bullshyt. Having flexibility for the future is meaningless when no one wants to play in Cleveland regardless so you trade your "assets" now before they get exposed as shyt.
And this is why the city of Cleveland will never get a ring...... As the Cavs roster stands they are a great team but im not sold that they beat the Spurs, Thunder, Clippers or Houston
. Wiggins is still 3-4 years away, and thats assuming hes gonna be a star, and with LeBron being there his developm
. They need to strike while they can. Cleveland is gonna choke away there window of opportunity by being selfish. A Lebron Kyrie Waiters and raw Wiggins isnt a ring team. In 3-4 years a declined Bron, allstar wiggins, prime kyrie, and solid waiters might be a ring team depending on how good bron still is and how well Wiggins developed. A current Lebron, current K Love, current Kyrie and Waiters is a championship squad for the next 6-8 years. I messs with Wiggins but Cleveland would have to be selfish morons not to do this trade. They'd be fools to wait on Wiggins to develop while lebron is declining. For a city starving for a championship, they are being pretty choosy. They need to get a ship while they can and stop looking forward cause its gonna be sad (hilarious
