Ever since LeBron James returned to Cleveland, talks have intensified for All-Star power forward Kevin Love.
Rumors have surfaced that the Cavaliers wouldn’t include rookie swingman Andrew Wiggins in any possible deal for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ star.
A league source said on July 17 that the Cavs are now willing to trade the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft.
Wiggins, a 6-foot-8, 194-pounder, has played well at the Las Vegas Summer League, where he’s become a crowd favorite. The former Kansas star has averaged 13.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in the Cavs’ first three games. However, he’s shooting just 37.8 percent from the field.
Up until this point, it was assumed the Cavs wanted to hang onto Wiggins, largely because of comments made by Coach David Blatt.
However, a source said James wants the 6-10, 250-pound Love on the roster.
And, what James wants, he normally gets.
The thinking is that Wiggins is going to be a very good player, a possible All-Star player, in time. But he’s raw. He’s a long way away from reaching that potential.
Love is an All-Star caliber player now. The union of James, Kyrie Irving and Love could be a championship in the making.
The Cavs are under the gun to win now. James is playing on a two-year contract that includes an out clause after the 2014-15 season if he decides to use it.
The addition of Love could push the Cavs to the top of the Eastern Conference. Without Love, they are still a playoff team, but might fall behind Chicago and Indiana in the East.
The latest offer could include Wiggins, power forward Anthony Bennett and a first-round pick. Center Brendan Haywood might be included in the deal to make it work contractually.
That would be a lot of potential talent heading Minnesota’s way. Bennett was the top overall pick in the 2013 draft and appears to be poised to take a major step in his career. He’s now in top shape and the ‘stretch 4’ appears to have high scoring ability.
The Cavs also would be able to hang onto starting shooting guard Dion Waiters in the latest proposal.
The Golden State Warriors are also attempting to trade for Love, who averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds last year. Up until this point, they wouldn’t including shooting guard Klay Thompson in any possible deal.
Love will make $15.7 million this season. He can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2014-15 season. A deal might be contingent on him agreeing to sign an extension with the Cavs.
![So much for the notion the Cavaliers were going to sweep the Magic into the offseason. The Cavaliers used smothering defense and had the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse crowd to support them to take a 2-0 lead before the series moved to Orlando. It was like the two teams switched places for Game 3 on April 25 at the Kia Center. The Orlando fans were every bit as loud as the Cavaliers’ faithful. And, truth be told, the Magic put up a much grittier fight in the first two contests than the Cavs did in Game 3. The Cavs played as […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TNH-L-BKN-Cavaliers-Magic-0425-01.jpg?w=525 "So much for the notion the Cavaliers were going to sweep the Magic into the offseason. The Cavaliers used smothering defense and had the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse crowd to support them to take a 2-0 lead before the series moved to Orlando. It was like the two teams switched places for Game 3 on April 25 at the Kia Center. The Orlando fans were every bit as loud as the Cavaliers’ faithful. And, truth be told, the Magic put up a much grittier fight in the first two contests than the Cavs did in Game 3. The Cavs played as […]")