Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015?

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Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#1 » by SAKURABA216 » Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:20 pm

I remember thinking to myself in the summer of 2014, that the Cavs were certain to keep the #1 pick that turned into Wiggins and sign Kevin Love the following summer when he became a free agent. That way they would have Lebron and the guy that many thought was going to be 'the future Lebron' playing together on the same team. I was under the impression that Lebron did not want to be the mentor to Wiggins because he was in win-now mode and was willing to trade Wiggins in order to have Love a year sooner. Is this correct? Was there any way for the Cavs to keep Wiggins and get Love later on? If this was the case then I'm sure they are kicking themselves now because they would definitely be able to hang with the Warriors if the had Wiggins and Love on their team the past couple years:

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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#2 » by BebopBlues35 » Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:29 pm

Sure they could have kept Wiggins and signed Love, but why take the chance of him being traded to another team/signing somewhere else? I agree with your analysis by the way and that overall LeBron made the right call in giving the green light for the trade. Andrew is entertaining to watch yet he is definitely a passive and one-dimensional player that lacks efficiency and good help defense. Knowing LeBron he did his homework on the young Kansas forward and decided he would not fit in the system that he wanted implemented immediately, a system designed and dependent on high iq players and not volume scorers that don't have a consistent three ball.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#3 » by MisterHibachi » Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:31 pm

Wiggins isn't a good defensive player, and needs shots to be effective. Why would he be a plus against the Warriors?
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#4 » by SAKURABA216 » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:08 pm

MisterHibachi wrote:Wiggins isn't a good defensive player, and needs shots to be effective. Why would he be a plus against the Warriors?


He's young, long, and athletic and at the very least would be a better back-up to Lebron than Jefferson if not play on the starting lineup. Not to mention he would be a fantastic backup plan if Lebron decides to leave in a year.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#5 » by NBAfan3024 » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:10 pm

That's not what Lebron wanted
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#6 » by Vibranium » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:17 pm

NBAfan3024 wrote:That's not what Lebron wanted

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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#7 » by Duke4life831 » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:23 pm

Wiggins wouldnt look good playing alongside Lebron and Kyrie. High volume scoring is basically the only thing Wiggins brings to the table right now. If he is your #4 option youre looking at a guy that gets you 10 points on 8 shots probably. He also wont bring any rebounding or facilitating and he would be the worst defensive player in the rotation. Rondae Hollis Jefferson or Justise Winslow are a much better fit if youre looking for a young wing to be on this Cavs team with their elite defense.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#8 » by DowJones » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:31 pm

No, Cleveland wouldn't have the cap space. I am also not convinced we win a title without JR Smith. His shooting was key and a 2nd year Wiggins wasn't helping as much against GS.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#9 » by Heezzi » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:47 pm

Cavs should've kept Waiters.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#10 » by Warriorfan » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:55 pm

Cavs if they did not resign TT JR or Schumpart and kept Wiggins might have been better off
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#11 » by Warriorfan » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:58 pm

Cavs if they did not resign TT JR or Schumpart and kept Wiggins might have been better off
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#12 » by Clay Davis » Sun Jun 18, 2017 7:39 pm

Well, if you're Wiggins, at best you'd be a 3 & D player on the Cavs. Speaking optimistically, he could be a transcendentally good 3 & D player, but he's not going to be a better iso scorer than Kyrie and a better playmaker than Lebron. But if I were Wiggins, I'm not sure I'd take that deal if the alternative is to go to a rebuilding team where I can be the man.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#13 » by SAKURABA216 » Sun Jun 18, 2017 7:49 pm

He was on a rookie contract though so couldn't they have had him and JR Smith and Schumpert? Phil Jackson got totally fleeced on the deal that sent those two to the Cavs and I don't think that Wiggins would have prevented that trade from happening. Maybe Cavs would be without Channing Frye or Korver and Bogut this year.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#14 » by turk3d » Sun Jun 18, 2017 8:03 pm

No. If they hadn't he would have went to the Warriors who were hot on his trail and there were indications that they were Love's preference. Glen Taylor (Wolves owner) did not want to trade him to a division rival and preferred to trade him out of the division (the same way he did with KG) and was asking the Warriors an exorbitant amount in order to move him there. The rumor was he wanted Klay and the Warriors decided not to (talk about dodging a bullet!).

They had to move quickly and although at the time, the offer seemed kind of weak, it turns out that the T-Wolves lucked out in the player they got in Wiggins. But I don't think that the Cavs would have gotten Love had they not moved swiftly, Love had to be moved and it's likely he would have made it to Golden State. Another interesting aspect to all this, had Love been moved to the Warriors, then Green would not have moved into a starting position, let alone starting Power Forward. Luck has a whole to do with success at times.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#15 » by Worm Guts » Sun Jun 18, 2017 8:52 pm

I can't imagine they would have had the cap space
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#16 » by Vibranium » Sun Jun 18, 2017 11:16 pm

Heezzi wrote:Cavs should've kept Waiters.

Nah




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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#17 » by JonFromVA » Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:35 am

DowJones wrote:No, Cleveland wouldn't have the cap space. I am also not convinced we win a title without JR Smith. His shooting was key and a 2nd year Wiggins wasn't helping as much against GS.


Well, the Cavs could have let things play out and used the idea as a leverage point to see if Flip would sweeten the deal - or if another star came on the market. The Cavs could have made the cap space, but they would have had to strip the roster down.

They preferred to not take the gamble and get the ball rolling.

In hindsight, their other trade pieces: Dion Waiters and Anthony Bennett lost value; but on the bright side it would have hurt less shipping them away for a bag of chips to open the cap space they'd need.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#18 » by qwerty1234 » Mon Jun 19, 2017 12:57 am

MisterHibachi wrote:Wiggins isn't a good defensive player, and needs shots to be effective. Why would he be a plus against the Warriors?


That's assuming he takes the same trajectory if he stayed in Cleveland. Coming into the draft the talk was that he was a year 1 lock down defender. He's obviously not where he should be defensively now, but he also has had to take on a massively bigger offensive role than anyone thought he was capable. If he goes to Cleveland he's earning his minutes on the defensive end and focusing on offensive skills that utilize Lebron as a playmaker. He's a hard worker and Lebron pushes his teammates so I don't doubt he'd be a better fit than the way he plays now.
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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#19 » by shanghaifanzi » Mon Jun 19, 2017 2:14 am

Heezzi wrote:Cavs should've kept Waiters.

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Re: Could the Cavs have kept Wiggins in 2014 and signed Love as UFA in 2015? 

Post#20 » by Young_Star11 » Mon Jun 19, 2017 6:49 am

Absolutely, and they probably would have made the Finals that year too (Love got hurt by Olynyk).

Wiggins would have had a role of being a 3&D guy

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