Bulls, Cavaliers, Blazers: How the West Was Won

[ecuhus1981]

OK, the title might be a bit of hyperbole, but it made you click, didn't it?!

https://basketball.realgm.com/tradechecker/saved_trade/7230688

CHI trades LaVine/Valentine/1st for McCollum/Wade
The Bulls swap out a more natural and efficient SG fit alongside their new playmaker.
White, McCollum, Porter, Markkanen, Carter
Satoransky, Hutchinson, Gafford, Felicio


CLE trades Love/Wade for Whiteside/Valentine/1st/1st
The Cavaliers rip the Band-Aid and turn the page on their championship era, while gaining future picks and opening up enough 2020 capspace to sign two max FA's.
Sexton, Garland, Osman, Nance, Whiteside
Clarkson, Windler, Thompson, Henson


POR trades McCollum/Whiteside/1st for Love/LaVine
The Blazers keep pace out West by loading up on legends from the Pacific NW. The former Bruins should complement each other well, and ignite a fastbreak game that may prove lacking without Al-Farouq and Mo.
Lillard, LaVine, Hood, Love, Collins
Bazemore, Hezonja, Labissiere, {Nurkic}

[kalenclayton]

That Portland team is going to get ruined on the defensive end.

[ecuhus1981]

That Portland team is going to get ruined on the defensive end.

On the wing, sure. But that was gonna happen anyway. LaVine is worse than McCollum, but neither are particularly adept at locking up opponents.

At PF, Love is an upgrade on both ends of the floor for Portland. His defense is panned (because he's white? IDK), but he's a solid defender, especially team defense.

[Revenged25]

Cavs say no.

[pacers33granger]

Cavs say no.

Any particular reason why? If Cleveland just has no interest in moving Love, sure. But getting expirings and two firsts seems unlikely and basically the best possible return Cleveland could reasonably hope for, even if he returns to form and shows he's healthy.

[Revenged25]

Cavs say no.

Any particular reason why? If Cleveland just has no interest in moving Love, sure. But getting expirings and two firsts seems unlikely and basically the best possible return Cleveland could reasonably hope for, even if he returns to form and shows he's healthy.

1st I'm almost positive this trade will put Cleveland back in the Luxury Tax which they are trying to avoid. They are right up against the tax right now.

2nd They already have something like 65 mil in expiring contracts and will have to try to reach the salary floor as it is and moving Love for expirings doesn't make any sense as it's not like they're going to be signing 2 Max FAs.

3rd The 2 1sts are almost guaranteed to be outside the lotto not counting protections, so why trade your best player that can help in the development of the 3 guards drafted in the 1st round the past 2 years by letting the offense be ran more through Love than them until they are ready for the role.

Trading Love right now is just bad management. His value is even lower after being told to take extended rehab time by the Cavs FO due to the tank so trading him now when his value is at its lowest doesn't make sense. IF the Cavs decide to trade Love it'll be at the deadline after the offense has been ran through him surrounded by a bunch of shooters and he's putting up 20/10/8 while showing he's healthy. Also although his sample size last year was only 22 games, Love is one of only 5 PF or PF/Cs that have averaged 17/7 (though he's averaged 17/9) over the past 3 seasons, his production isn't easily found or replaced so selling this low is just bad business.

[ecuhus1981]

1st I'm almost positive this trade will put Cleveland back in the Luxury Tax which they are trying to avoid. They are right up against the tax right now.

2nd They already have something like 65 mil in expiring contracts and will have to try to reach the salary floor as it is and moving Love for expirings doesn't make any sense as it's not like they're going to be signing 2 Max FAs.

3rd The 2 1sts are almost guaranteed to be outside the lotto not counting protections, so why trade your best player that can help in the development of the 3 guards drafted in the 1st round the past 2 years by letting the offense be ran more through Love than them until they are ready for the role.

Trading Love right now is just bad management. His value is even lower after being told to take extended rehab time by the Cavs FO due to the tank so trading him now when his value is at its lowest doesn't make sense. IF the Cavs decide to trade Love it'll be at the deadline after the offense has been ran through him surrounded by a bunch of shooters and he's putting up 20/10/8 while showing he's healthy. Also although his sample size last year was only 22 games, Love is one of only 5 PF or PF/Cs that have averaged 17/7 (though he's averaged 17/9) over the past 3 seasons, his production isn't easily found or replaced so selling this low is just bad business.

Thank you for expounding.

1st, this deal adds about 500K to your current cap. NBD, it's not going to make or break your luxury tax avoidance.

2nd, you have a defeatist mindset. It will be a shallow talent market compared to this summer (pretty much every offseason pales in comparison), but the list of teams with serious capspace is even shallower. Even IF they don't land 2 max FA's next summer, you would be a major player for the best FA's, and could build your team around the youth of your core pieces.

3rd, If you're holding your breath for lottery 1sts in an eventual Love trade, they're not coming. I think you're just dug-in about keeping Love, and that's fine. But your rationale is shaky at best, and I don't think that your FO would be as adamant.

[Revenged25]

1st I'm almost positive this trade will put Cleveland back in the Luxury Tax which they are trying to avoid. They are right up against the tax right now.

2nd They already have something like 65 mil in expiring contracts and will have to try to reach the salary floor as it is and moving Love for expirings doesn't make any sense as it's not like they're going to be signing 2 Max FAs.

3rd The 2 1sts are almost guaranteed to be outside the lotto not counting protections, so why trade your best player that can help in the development of the 3 guards drafted in the 1st round the past 2 years by letting the offense be ran more through Love than them until they are ready for the role.

Trading Love right now is just bad management. His value is even lower after being told to take extended rehab time by the Cavs FO due to the tank so trading him now when his value is at its lowest doesn't make sense. IF the Cavs decide to trade Love it'll be at the deadline after the offense has been ran through him surrounded by a bunch of shooters and he's putting up 20/10/8 while showing he's healthy. Also although his sample size last year was only 22 games, Love is one of only 5 PF or PF/Cs that have averaged 17/7 (though he's averaged 17/9) over the past 3 seasons, his production isn't easily found or replaced so selling this low is just bad business.

Thank you for expounding.

1st, this deal adds about 500K to your current cap. NBD, it's not going to make or break your luxury tax avoidance.

2nd, you have a defeatist mindset. It will be a shallow talent market compared to this summer (pretty much every offseason pales in comparison), but the list of teams with serious capspace is even shallower. Even IF they don't land 2 max FA's next summer, you would be a major player for the best FA's, and could build your team around the youth of your core pieces.

3rd, If you're holding your breath for lottery 1sts in an eventual Love trade, they're not coming. I think you're just dug-in about keeping Love, and that's fine. But your rationale is shaky at best, and I don't think that your FO would be as adamant.

1. We are definitely < 2.5 mil from the tax, so every penny counts.

2. This isn't a defeatist mentality, it's a fact. The best FAs next summer are all RFA or aren't worth the contracts they will get, not to mention likely not as good as Love, though probably healthier. Here's the list of the top 2020 FAs as of right now: https://www.slamonline.com/nba/the-top-25-2020-nba-free-agents/
Now which ones do you think the Cavs will get with their 80 mil or whatever in cap space? Which ones will be worth the contracts to get them? Be honest too.

3. If Love puts up Jokic type numbers being the focal point of the offense, which isn't unrealistic if all the shooters the Cavs drafted have their shooting translate, then the Cavs wouldn't get lottery 1sts since the teams trading for him would be playoff contenders, but they could probably get promising young assets.

The Cavs are in the best position, now and into the future, by keeping Love unless they get a trade they can't refuse. Expirings and late 1sts isn't that as he would be a bigger help to the growth of the team by being on the court with them than late 1sts would be.

[ecuhus1981]

1. We are definitely < 2.5 mil from the tax, so every penny counts.

2. This isn't a defeatist mentality, it's a fact. The best FAs next summer are all RFA or aren't worth the contracts they will get, not to mention likely not as good as Love, though probably healthier. Here's the list of the top 2020 FAs as of right now: https://www.slamonline.com/nba/the-top-25-2020-nba-free-agents/
Now which ones do you think the Cavs will get with their 80 mil or whatever in cap space? Which ones will be worth the contracts to get them? Be honest too.

3. If Love puts up Jokic type numbers being the focal point of the offense, which isn't unrealistic if all the shooters the Cavs drafted have their shooting translate, then the Cavs wouldn't get lottery 1sts since the teams trading for him would be playoff contenders, but they could probably get promising young assets.

The Cavs are in the best position, now and into the future, by keeping Love unless they get a trade they can't refuse. Expirings and late 1sts isn't that as he would be a bigger help to the growth of the team by being on the court with them than late 1sts would be.

1. I'm right, just say it. This deal does not take you above the luxury tax.

2. I don't put any creedence in SLAM's list. The top 3 FA's next summer are all unrestricted: Davis, DeRozan and Green. We can play the "which do you think we'll get game", but you wouldn't have bet last year that Brooklyn would get Kyrie AND Durant, would you have?

3. Stop right there. 6 years ago at his peak, Love was never the player that Jokic is now, and Nikola has even reached his fullest potential. I'm a fan of Kevin's game, but let's call a spade a spade. KL ain't puttin' up Jokic numbers, more like Griffin numbers if he's fortunate.

[Blazers-1977]

Blazers say no as well

[ChettheJet]

The Bulls give up the closest thing they have to an all star, PLUS a 1st round pick and a guy they've waited a year for to come back for a replacement 2 guard. They don't relieve the glut of PGs, they don't get rid of Felicio and they don't help their wing shooting off the bench.

What in heck are they even considering this for? that's right they aren't.

[cucad8]

No from this Portland fan. I'd consider Whiteside and a pick for Love. But then the rest of the deal is CJ for Lavine, and that's a no.

[jbk1234]

I really don't want anything to do with Whiteside as it's almost guaranteed that the Cavs would have to buy him out within weeks of the trade, but I don't understand why Portland would move him before the season started. He's there as a Nurkic replacement and until Nurkic comes back, he's filling his role.

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[Kurt Heimlich]

I guess this is one of those all teams say no deals. But lavine is younger, more talented and on a significantly better contract than cj. Giving up a 1st just takes it from a debatable no to an obvious no.