The Kevin Love trade watch is already under way in Cleveland, according to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The Cavaliers were hoping to continue their streak of playoff appearances after losing LeBron James, but they haven’t looked like contenders in any way during an 0-3 start, especially in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Hawks.
Love has been among the few bright spots, averaging 20.7 PPG and 14.3 RPG, but at age 30 he seems out of place on a team that may have to get serious about rebuilding. The four-year, $120MM extension he signed this summer may make him more attractive on the trade market, Bontemps suggests, just as a similar deal did for Blake Griffin last summer. Love won’t become trade eligible until late January, and the Cavs could be well out of the postseason race by then
There’s more today from the Central Division:
- The Bulls have an abundance of point guards after signing Shaquille Harrison over the weekend, notes Sam Smith of NBA.com. Kris Dunn is expected to take over the starting role when he returns from paternity leave tonight, with Harrison and former Suns teammate Tyler Ulis in reserve, along with Cameron Payne and Ryan Arcidiacono. Harrison hopes to use his defensive prowess to help him emerge from the pack. “It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “When I found out, I was extremely excited and ready to get down here and get to work. It was an unfortunate situation in Phoenix, but I’m going to take full advantage of it here in Chicago.”
- Coach Dwane Casey’s lineup shuffling led to Luke Kennard not playing at all on Saturday after being in the starting lineup for the season opener, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The new Pistons coach is working his way through a crowded rotation and has used point guards Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith at the same time, cutting down on the available wing minutes.
- Free agent addition Kyle O’Quinn paid early dividends for the Pacers in Saturday’s win over the Nets, states Scott Agness of The Athletic. With Domantas Sabonis ruled out shortly before game time, O’Quinn stepped in with 16 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. “This is what we brought him here for,” coach Nate McMillan said. “… There are going to be nights where we’re going to need him. Domas was out, (Kyle) stepped in and he was ready to go, and played a really, really good game for us.”
The Pacers had 9 players in double figures for the game.
Tyrone Lue is a terrible coach, and he has continued to prove it. They have no balance on the floor, as usual, b/c his rotation is garbage.
Cleveland should move Korver.
Hill, JR Smith, Cedi Osman, Larry Nance, Kevin Love should start
Hood, Clarkson, Thompson, Sexton, Nwaba, Dekker off the bench
That’s theoretically a pretty nice, and versatile rotation, and potentially a relatively strong improvement defensively. They’ve looked just as terrible as they previously did defensively so far, and that makes no sense with the additions they’ve made
Clearly Altman re-signed Love to increase his trade value. Jerry did the same thing with Blake Griffin so I fully expect Love to be elsewhere by the deadline.
Love is the only player the Cavs have. I think he’ll stay. He needs to get his shooting percentage up, way up. Cedi Osman is playing good. I think they need to start Sexton to avoid a repeat of George Hill and De’Aaron Fox last year. Trae Young had 35 in the Hawks 133-111 win over Cavs last night. That can’t happen.
Asking Love to lead these Cavs is like a single mother raising 3 kids working part-time which is just not possible.
Agree. Tristan is making and rebounding, but the defense is awful. Not sure where to start… it should have been a bit better.
Probably leadership is lacking. @formerlyz says they need more JR, not less. There’s a red flag!
JR Smith can defend. Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, Kyle Korver cant
Is Hood eligible to be traded, or not because he signed a RFA tender? If this isn’t quite correct, what is his contract status and trade eligibility?
Would trading for Hill and JR’s contracts be more attractive this year for salary matching or next year when they are both guaranteed less?
Cedi looks good. I think Sexton will be a star. Nance was just extended. Clarkson and Hood probably aren’t long term pieces. The vets like TT and Korver are just warm bodies to fill minutes and cash checks (although I personally like Korver)
Screwy Lue has to go. He doesn’t know who his best players are.
Doc gave Griffin contract. Jerry west was not there. One of his first moves was to blow him out. He won’t pay players who can’t shoot.
I really think you all have to calm down. It’s 3 games. Talk about overreacting. What were you’re realistic expectations anyway?
I had them as the 10th seed, but I thought they could fight for anywhere between 7 and 10. Its not about the record for me. It’s about how they’re playing. They can be better on defense, but not with those lineups