OK, I just went and read the Sloan Analytics paper on Big 2's and Big 3's. Decent paper but not great. Biggest issue as relates to TWolves is that Love does not project at all into any of these clusters. He is a ridiculous outlier in rebounding. The other thing from my point of view is that Pek is closest to a "cluster 12":
Cluster 12: High scoring post players, high rebounds, high blocks: Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem
Olajuwon, David Robinson
With the obvious issue being that he is not really a shot blocker. But he is high-rebound, high scoring, and his entire game is within 8 feet of the basket, and really, more like 5. Does this matter? Yes! The true "cluster 12" center is a powerhouse, the third most valuable player type behind "cluster 8" and "cluster 2".
In other words, I think this is not much of an issue. Pek and Love are not a serious defensive powerhouse, but they can dominate the boards. This, in combination with a defense structured around denying the passing lanes might have a shot in the playoffs.
The bigger issue that we have is the "cluster 8" or "cluster 2" player, which both showed to be the most beneficial to have among your top 2 or 3 players as long as the other top 2 or 3 players does not result in a double "cluster 8."
Cluster-8: Multi-faceted, high scoring wings, with high assists for their position and are great 3 point shooters: Paul Pierce, Danny Ainge
Cluster-2: High scoring, dynamic guards (mostly 2 guards, but some 3’s like Grant Hill), typically not great 3 point shooters, or if they are, don’t shoot very many: Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Tracy McGrady, Adrian Dantley.
To my ears, these both very much sound like "not a player currently on this team." And to be honest, I do not think that Johnson, Webster, Beasley or Williams are going to suddenly start sprouting high assist numbers. This is completely independent of whatever becomes of their 3-point shooting, which in all cases seems more like "sometimes" rather than "great."
But is there a "cluster 8" or "cluster 2" type player available out there right now? Seems doubtful.
However, going by the conclusions of this paper, if we were going to trade our "near-cluster 12" center, we should be getting back a well rounded, high-defense big plus a really good "cluster 2" or "cluster 8" player.
