- Speaking of Gallinari, the Trail Blazers are expected to pursue the Thunder forward, league sources tell The Ringer. O’Connor also hears that Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love would like to play for his hometown team in Portland.
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The Trail Blazers, Nuggets and Suns are some of the teams that might be interested in Cavaliers forward Kevin Love but his trade value has diminished due to his health and contract, Sean Deveney of Heavy.com writes. Love is in the first year of his $120MM extension and he’s experienced back issues after missing most of last season with a toe injury, Deveney notes. He also missed significant time the previous two seasons with hand and knee injuries. Cleveland’s haul for Love would likely involve a first-round pick, salary-cap relief, and perhaps an underachieving young player, Deveney adds.
- Love isn’t sure if he’ll be dealt but he understands why there’s so much speculation regarding his status on the rebuilding Cavaliers, Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays. “I imagine, in a rebuild, it’s easy to look at it, especially when it’s down and out at this point, and say, ‘Hey, we want to completely reset the deck and go young,'” Love said. “I understand that. But despite that, whether it’s five months or five years, I’m always going to be able to come back to Cleveland no matter what, and I’ll always love the fans, and be part of this organization, one way or another.”
Trade rumors continue to swirl around Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, with Shams Charania of The Athletic and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst becoming the latest to weigh in on Love’s situation.
According to Charania, league sources have said Love would prefer a move to a contending team. Charania also reiterated what ESPN reported on Friday, indicating that the Cavs have been open to engaging in discussions with teams about a potential trade involving Love.
Windhorst, meanwhile, stated on his podcast that he thinks Cleveland’s phone lines “were always open” on Love, adding that the five-time All-Star seems “clearly unhappy” with the Cavs (hat tip to RealGM). Love expressed frustration over the weekend with the team’s struggles, and Windhorst suggests that the big man’s relationship with first-year head coach John Beilein may have accelerated the Cavs’ timeline for a trade.
[RELATED: Report: John Beilein’s Coaching Style Is Alienating Players]
The Cavs got off to a solid start this season under Beilein, winning four of their first nine games. Since then, they’ve dropped 12 of 13, and many of those losses have been blowouts. The team was hammered by 47 points in Philadelphia on Saturday.
After recording 18.3 PPG and 13.4 RPG on 48.1% shooting in Cleveland’s first nine games, Love has averages of 13.9 PPG and 7.6 RPG on 39.6% since then, and has battled a back injury.
While Love still has star-level upside, potential trade partners will be wary of his recent injury history (he hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season since 2015/16) and of his contract, which still has three years and $91MM+ left on it after this season.
The frustrations in Cleveland are becoming too much for Kevin Love to hide, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Cavaliers lost by 47 points last night in Philadelphia, a day after a report that players are unhappy with first-year coach John Beilein. Fedor notes that at one point in the game Love wandered off by himself for a while during a timeout after rookie Darius Garland opted to shoot a fadeaway rather than pass the ball to him in the post.
“Just complete and utter frustration,” Love admitted after the game. “I think that’s natural. I really want to compete. I think most guys want to compete. Just really, really frustrated. I don’t know. Getting myself going is just … I don’t know what else I can do.”
Saturday marked the 12th loss in 13 games for the Cavs and the second straight in which a member of the organization commented on Love’s body language. He committed to the team last year by agreeing to a four-year extension after LeBron James left, but finds himself in an unfamiliar role as part of a rebuilding project after making four straight trips to the NBA Finals. A report surfaced Friday that Cleveland is ready to listen to trade offers involving Love.
“I’m really trying to be engaged,” he said. “I’m trying to be a good teammate. I don’t think any of these guys would say that I’m not a good teammate. It’s tough.”
There’s more Cavaliers news to pass along:
- Beilein received some encouragement last night from Sixers coach Brett Brown, who understands rebuilding as well as anyone, Fedor adds. Overseeing “the Process,” Brown won a combined 47 games during his first three seasons in Philadelphia, but now has his team in title contention. He promised to text Beilein advice on how to handle the constant losing
- The Cavaliers can make Beilein’s job a lot easier by getting rid of the veterans who refuse to give him a chance, contends Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Beilein claims he has changed his college style to adapt to the NBA, but Lloyd notes that he’s really coaching two teams at once — a young core set for the future and seven veterans who are in the final year of their contracts. Lloyd believes general manager Koby Altman already knows which players need to be traded.
- Frank Urbina of HoopsHype lists the Jazz, Nets, Suns and Celtics as four possible landing spots for Love.
It’s become part of a fall tradition like no other in Cleveland. The weather gets cold, the Browns inch closer toward elimination from the postseason (check out Pro Football Rumors for the latest on the NFL club), and the Kevin Love trade rumors heat up.
Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Cavaliers are indeed ready to listen to offers for the big man, as he explained on ESPN’s NBA Countdown (h/t Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated).
“I’m told that Cleveland is ready now to listen to offers on Kevin Love as we get to that December 15 date and then the February trade deadline,” Woj said on the telecast.
Love is in the first year of a four-year, $120.4MM extension he signed back in 2018. Wojnarowski said a number of teams in both conferences could have interest in the power forward and if a deal happens, expect it to come after December 15 when many of the league’s offseason signings are eligible to be dealt.
The Cavaliers have always been willing to listen to offers for Love, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets. According to Fedor, the team isn’t actively shopping the five-time All-Star, though if the right deal presents itself, Love will be on a new team.
Cavaliers players are rebelling against new coach John Beilein and believe he’s running the team like he’s still in college, according to Joe Vardon and Shams Charania of The Athletic. Some players have already tuned out Beilein and are seeking guidance from lead assistant J.B. Bickerstaff, the authors add.
“Guys drowned out his voice, and when guys start searching for the next in line for help, I believe you’ve lost them,” one player said anonymously.
“Our assistants are definitely more prepared for the NBA,” another claimed.
The 66-year-old Beilein is floundering in his first professional season after more than a quarter century as a successful college coach. The Cavs have dropped four straight games and 10 of their last 11, falling to 5-15 overall. They are coming off a 33-point loss to Pistons on Tuesday, which was followed by a Wednesday film session where both sides expressed their frustrations over what has gone wrong, according to sources.
Player grievances include “nitpicking” over fundamentals, “harping” during long film studies and Beilein’s alleged failure to understand the NBA game. Sources tell Vardon and Charania that the complaints run through the entire team and aren’t limited to any demographic.
The Cavaliers hired Beilein in May after interviewing nearly a dozen other candidates. He was given a five-year contract and was surrounded by a few experienced assistants. In addition to Bickerstaff, who has prior head coaching experience with the Rockets and Grizzlies, Cleveland brought in Andrew Lang and Dan Geriot, along with Lindsay Gottlieb, who is also in her first NBA season after serving as head coach at California-Berkley.
Beilein was chosen after a face-to-face meeting with team chairman Dan Gilbert because of his history of developing young players, who make up the core of the roster in the second year of a rebuilding project. With seven veterans on the final year of their contracts, there may be a lot of turnover by February’s trade deadline, which could give Beilein a fresh chance to gain the confidence of his team.
In an illuminating look at the state of the Cavaliers, Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amico revealed that two Eastern Conference contenders could be destinations for a tandem of Cleveland veterans on expiring deals.
The 2018/19 champion Raptors have a “high interest” in Toronto native Tristan Thompson ahead of this season’s trade deadline, according to Amico. Thompson, an unrestricted free agent this summer, is playing on an expiring $18.5MM contract. Toronto has enough appealing assets to potentially entice Cavaliers GM Koby Altman into making a move. As of this writing, Toronto stands at 15-5, good for third in the Eastern Conference. They are playing the Rockets tonight.
Thompson is currently averaging career highs of 13.9 points and 10.6 boards per contest. The 28 year-old center would presumably replace one of the Raptors’ two-headed center corps, 34 year-old Marc Gasol or 30 year-old Serge Ibaka. Both former All-Defensive players are also on expiring deals, and both are on the athletic downslopes of their careers. Gasol is making $25.6MM this season, while Ibaka is earning $23.3MM. Thompson, a starter on the 2015/16 champion Cavaliers, would make more sense as a springier Ibaka replacement than a substitute for the passing maestro Gasol this year.
Amico also reports that the Sixers are said to be interested in adding Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson, on an expiring $13.4MM deal. After the 76ers lost significant offensive firepower with the 2019 summer departures of Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick, Clarkson could add provide some shooting help off the bench. He is connecting on 35% of his 5.0 long range attempts this season. Clarkson is also knocking down 88.6% of his looks from the charity stripe. Philadelphia sits at fourth in the East with a 15-6 record, though the team is in danger of dropping a game to the Wizards this evening.
The Suns will get suspended center Deandre Ayton back in less than two weeks, but coach Monty Williams believes it will take 10 games or so for the team to get used to playing with him again, writes Gina Mizell of The Athletic. The top pick in last year’s draft played just one game this season before being suspended by the league after testing positive for a diuretic.
“We’re really gonna see who we are in the next month,” Williams said. “Most teams know all your plays. Most guys are setting their rotations. I think we’ll find out what our team looks like with the addition of DA.”
Ayton raised a lot of expectations with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks on opening night. The Suns want to see if he can become the anchor of their defense and an effective pick-and-roll partner for Ricky Rubio or if he’ll slip back into some of the bad habits of his rookie season.
There’s more out of Phoenix:
- Power forward could be a position of need if the Suns decide to become active on the trade market, Mizell adds in the same piece. Dario Saric has played well, but he’s the only Phoenix starter without a long-term contract and he stands to get a sizable offer as a restricted free agent. Mizell states that the Suns have to be intrigued by Arizona alum Aaron Gordon‘s 32-point performance against them last night, but the Magic may want to hold onto him as long as they’re in the playoff race. She lists Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge as veterans who might become available by the February trade deadline.
- Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer examines whether the Suns and Kings are better off without Ayton and Marvin Bagley III, who are both slated to return soon. In Phoenix’s case, veteran center Aron Baynes stepped in for Ayton and helped the Suns to a surprising 7-4 start. They didn’t slip down the standings until he suffered injuries to his hip and calf. Baynes has always been a strong defender, but he has developed his offense since coming to Phoenix, averaging a career best 14.7 points and 2.9 assists per game.
- Hornets guard Terry Rozier explained to reporters why he gave serious consideration to the Suns in free agency this summer (video link from The Arizona Republic). “Their identity is guys just play hard,” Rozier said. “Young, physical team, wanna win … obviously I’m not with them so I don’t really care about that no more.”
Here are Wednesday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
- The Bucks assigned power forward Dragan Bender to the Wisconsin Herd, the team’s PR department tweets. The fourth overall pick of the 2016 draft has averaged 21 PPG and 10 RPG in five starts with the Herd.
- The Knicks assigned rookie forward Ignas Brazdeikis to the Westchester Knicks, the team’s PR department tweets. He’s appeared in six games with the NBA Knicks, averaging 7.0 MPG in those outings.
- The Cavaliers assigned rookie swingman Dylan Windler to the Canton Charge, the team’s PR department tweets. He has yet to make his NBA debut. The first-rounder is working his way back into basketball shape after recovering from a leg injury.
- The Pacers recalled Victor Oladipo and Edmond Sumner from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team tweets. They practiced with the Mad Ants as part of their injury rehabs. There is no timetable for their return, the team adds.
- The Clippers assigned center Mfiondu Kabengele to the Agua Caliente Clippers, the team tweets. The rookie first-rounder out of Florida State has appeared in six NBA games, averaging 3.8 MPG in those outings.
- The Hawks recalled rookie forward Bruno Fernando and guard Tyrone Wallace from the College Park Skyhawks, the team tweets. Fernando, a second-round pick, is averaging 4.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 12.7 MPG while playing 21 games with the NBA team. Wallace has averaged 3.1 PPG in 12.0 MPG in 13 games with Atlanta.
- The Thunder recalled center Justin Patton from the Oklahoma City Blue, according to a team press release. In eight games with the Blue, Patton is averaging 10.3 PPG and 7.5 RPG in 26.2 MPG.
- The Hornets recalled Cody Martin from the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. The rookie guard appeared in three games with the Swarm, where he averaged 14.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 5.3 APG in 34.3 MPG.
John Henson hasn’t gotten discouraged by the Cavaliers‘ 5-15 start because he’s been through rebuilding before on a team that is now among the NBA’s best, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Henson was with the Bucks when they won 15 games with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton on the roster, and he is confident the young talent in Cleveland will eventually make a similar turnaround.
“You got to keep pushing forward,” Henson said. “Stay positive, hold onto the rope and don’t flinch as Coach says. “We are going to keep trekking this path. We’re not where we want to be, but the way the East is setting up, especially with sixth, seventh, eighth-seed, playoff wise, three or four-game win streak can put you right back in the mix. So, we can’t stop fighting and give up. It’s too early.”
Henson was back on the court last night after missing 17 games with a hamstring injury. He has been serving as a role model to his young teammates and reminding them that players often don’t get the opportunity they have in their first and second seasons in the league.
There’s more from Cleveland:
- The Cavs have been slumping because they’ve stopped using Kevin Love as the focal point of their offense, Fedor observes in a separate story. Love reached double figures in scoring in his first 13 games and posted eight double-doubles, but hasn’t seen the ball nearly as much recently. “We really tried to punch it to Kevin and I think he got doubled up a couple times,” coach John Beilein said Tuesday. “People are trying to make other people beat us. They will double him a lot.”
- Rookie Dylan Windler is taking significant steps toward making his NBA debut, according to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. Sidelined since the start of training camp by a stress reaction in his left leg, Windler has practiced the past two days and took part in a shootaround. Team doctors are monitoring Windler to see how he responds to each workout. “Today, I was in a coaches’ meeting, I heard the ball bouncing,” Beilein said. “When I heard the ball bouncing, I shot right out there right away because I knew Dylan was in the first group that was shooting just to see how he felt. He had no complications or no future soreness from yesterday’s workout.”
- Rod Beard of The Detroit News examines how Beilein is adjusting to losing in the NBA after years of success as a college coach.