Love Cavs’ Season To Date, But Playoffs Will Tell The Story

As the Cleveland Cavaliers keep rolling along, with an NBA best record of 47-10, it is time to remind everyone what we said during their 15-game winning streak to start the season.

It is definitely sad, but the real season for this group starts when the regular season ends, and the playoffs begin. And that’s not being a Debbie Downer. It’s just that the Cavs won a playoff series a year ago, and when your regular season record is as good as Cleveland’s, championship aspirations in play.

That doesn’t mean we aren’t enjoying the regular season either. The style of play this team uses and the togetherness they exhibit make it very enjoyable to watch. For example, last Friday we were looking for a competitive game against the Knicks, and instead it was a 27-point lead on the way to a blowout win.

But we can look ahead because there is no playoff race to speak of. Cleveland is going to be there. In fact, Sunday’s win over Memphis meant the wine and gold have already clinched at least a spot in Adam Silver’s “play in tournament”.

And there are 25 games remaining.

The NBA playoffs are just different. In the regular season, teams rely on what they do well and sometimes it causes an issue against a singular opponent because their strength isn’t something you are good at defending and vice-versa.

But in the playoffs, you are playing the same opponent for perhaps seven consecutive games. And if you can identify a weakness on the other side of the floor, you attack it until the other team adjusts.

Most Cavs’ fans will remember how in the 2016 NBA Finals, the Cavs went after Stephen Curry on the defensive end, taking advantage of the Warriors’ switching on defense until Curry was on LeBron James and/or Kyrie Irving.

That’s the sort of thing we are talking about.

So, as marvelous as Darius Garland has been this season, shooting a career high 49.3% from the floor and 42.5% from three, and a turnover rate the lowest of his career, there will be a lot of pressure on him once the post-season begins.

He would be the first to admit he didn’t play well in either of the last two playoff seasons, and opponents hunted him on the defensive end as well. And we don’t know if he will be better until we see it on the floor.

We were discussing Isaac Okoro over the weekend and agreed he is a very good defensive player. However, opposing teams are going to leave him open in a playoff series until he proves he is willing to take and make shots on the perimeter, particularly three pointers. If he cannot, Kenny Atkinson will have to be very judicious with his minutes.

Again, this is not to be a pessimist, rather it is exciting to see if the Cavs have learned from the past two campaigns and will be better for it.

We want to see this version of Evan Mobley in a playoff series. The All-Star version of Mobley. He’s averaging three points more per game than a year ago, while still remaining one of the best defenders in the league.

It is important to keep winning in the regular season and stay ahead of Boston in the conference standings if only to make them play New York in the second round. And the Cavs do have a six-game lead there.

Regular season success is nice, but in the NBA, teams are measured by playoff performance. And we will have to wait six weeks for that.

Love’s Time Here = Sacrifice

We discussed the Cavaliers’ decision to let Kevin Love go previously and wanted to take the time today to discuss his tenure with the wine and gold.

By now everyone knows Love has signed with the Miami Heat, meaning he is also taking his talents to South Beach, only he didn’t have a primetime special to announce it.

The Cavs have a back-to-back coming up in a couple of weeks (March 8th and 10th) in Miami, and hopefully Love doesn’t play a factor if Cleveland loses either of the two contests.

Time really flies because Love has been with the Cavaliers for nine seasons. It just seems hard to believe.

We would maintain no player ever sacrificed more than Kevin Love. We aren’t talking about money here, because as we all know, Love was paid very handsomely to stay in Cleveland after LeBron James and Kyrie Irving departed. No, we are discussing how he sacrificed his stats in order to win.

When Love arrived in town, he was coming off a 2nd team All-NBA season with Minnesota in which he averaged 25.9 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. He averaged 18.3 shots, and the previous three years with the Timberwolves, got between 17.4 and 18.3 shots with them.

He was also 2nd team All-NBA in 2011-12. Since Irving was 3rd team All-NBA in 2014-15, people should realize Love, not Irving, was the more accomplished player when the deal was made to send the first overall pick in Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett to the Wolves for Love.

Love had to make the difficult transition from being the best player on a mediocre team, the Wolves were 40-42 in his last season up north, to being the second or third option on a team with title aspirations. His shots per game dropped to 13.5 per game with the Cavaliers.

There were some adjustments for Love and we all remember the “fit in” of “fit out” comments by James in Love’s first year in town. But in the end, it worked out with four straight Finals appearances.

His minutes also dropped. Some of that was due to the Cavs blowing teams out and some was due to nagging injuries, but he was playing 36 minutes with Minnesota, and his high with Cleveland was his first season here at 33.8 minutes.

Ultimately, Love did make two all-star games with the Cavs, bringing his career total to five. They were in the last two years of “the LeBron era”, 2016-17 and 2017-18 when he 19.0 points (his Cavalier high) and 11.1 boards, and 17.6 and 9.3 respectively.

After he signed the extension to remain here, injuries became more prevalent, and he played just 22 games in the first year after James signed in LA, but he did play 56 of the 65 games in the pandemic season of 2019-20, scoring 17.6 points and getting 9.8 rebounds per game.

Last season, he remade himself as a sixth man, the leader of the second unit, playing in 74 games and scoring 13.6 points as well as grabbing 7.2 caroms in just 22.5 minutes a night. The reduced minutes kept him healthier and he was a key part of a resurgence for the franchise, with their first year over the .500 mark since they went to four straight NBA Finals.

If you want to remember Kevin Love as a Cavalier, remember he was the ultimate teammate. He did the things, the “little things” teams need to be done in order to be successful. He probably could have continued to put up huge numbers, but he wanted to win.

And he was a huge part of putting the only championship banner for the franchise in 2016.

Thank you and fans here will always be appreciative.

LeVert Is A Very Important Piece For Cavs

Basketball is a different sport. It’s the only sport where you have to transition from offense to defense or vice versa on a moment’s notice. It’s also a sport where you can execute a play perfectly, and the shooter misses a shot or you can do everything wrong, and a player puts a ridiculous shot in the hoop.

It’s also a sport where too many people look at numbers and think about how the player with those statistics can fit in with their team.

That was the case when the Cavaliers traded for Kevin Love prior to the 2014-15 season. Many people assumed Love would put up the same 26 points and 12.5 rebounds he did for the Timberwolves, but Love was the primary offensive option on Minnesota, and he would be the third scoring option in Cleveland, after LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Love scored ten points less per game in his first season here and grabbed three less boards. But the Cavs went to the NBA Finals, the first of four consecutive trips.

We believe that is why fans were so critical of Love in his early tenure with the wine and gold. They expected more than the player could have produced considering he was no longer the best player on the team.

For the most part, Love understood and did his job, and was rewarded when the Cavs won a title.

We think the same is true for Caris LeVert, another player we don’t think Cavalier fans appreciate enough. When LeVert came over from Indiana last season, he was scoring 18.9 points per game and was the primary perimeter scorer (the Pacers also had Domantis Sabonis at the time) for the Pacers.

He was hurt shortly after he arrived in town and averaged 13.6 points a game with the wine and gold. Our guess is people expected him to score the same 19 points he did in Indiana, but the Pacers didn’t have a player like Darius Garland.

His role changed again when the Cavs acquired Donovan Mitchell. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff started him a small forward to start the year, but they agreed he would be better coming off the bench.

He’s not a great three-point shooter, which seems to be the fixation of all fans these days, but he still is very important for the Cavs because he is one of the few players, and the only member of the second unit, that can create his own shot. And believe us, that’s very important come playoff time.

Besides LeVert, the only players on the Cleveland roster who can create their own are Mitchell and Garland.

He’s also shooting the three ball at a career best 37.6% and he’s not just a scorer, averaging four rebounds and four assists per game. And he’s the tallest guard (6’6″) on the roster.

In short, even though his numbers aren’t where they were in Indiana (again, circumstances), he provides the Cavs with a unique set of tools. Meaning he is very important to the team.

We’ve been saying since the beginning of the year the Cavaliers have six proven players, and Caris LeVert is one of those six. Be careful about wanting to move him.

The problem all along were the expectations of what LeVert could be vs. the player he is. And he is a very good player.

Talking About Mitchell’s Amazing Performance

In the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first season, Walt Wesley scored 50 points in a game against the Cincinnati Royals on February 19, 1971. That record held for 34 years, until LeBron James put up 56 vs. Toronto in March 2005.

The 50 point barrier has only been accomplished 15 times in franchise history and only five players have done it. James did it 10 times, Kyrie Irving did it twice, and the 57 points he put up on March 12, 2015 established the club record, which was tied by James two years later.

Earlier this season, Darius Garland became the fourth player in Cleveland history to hit the 50 mark when he put in 51 against Minnesota.

It doesn’t happen often for a player wearing wine and gold.

And then we have what happened on Monday night.

Donovan Mitchell had a night for the ages, shattering the team record with a 71 point effort, tied with David Robinson for the eighth most in any game by an individual. There are only three players in NBA history to have recorded more points in a single game, and their names are Wilt Chamberlain (of course), Kobe Bryant, and David Thompson.

Yes, the game went into overtime, but Mitchell had 58 at the end of regulation, which would have broken the Cavalier team record anyway.

The Cavs were without two starters, Garland and Evan Mobley, so they needed someone to step up and provide scoring. Garland is after all, a 20 point per game scorer. In the first half, no one stepped up and the wine and gold were down by 18 at halftime, 65-47.

Mitchell started getting in going late in the second quarter. He had five points until he hit a three with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter and scored eight more before the end of the half.

Again, for the entire game, no one outside of Jarrett Allen, who was nine of ten from the floor, and Raul Neto, who took just three shots, hit more than half their attempts for Cleveland.

So, Mitchell took over, which is what stars do. He basically willed the Cavs to a win. And it wasn’t as though he was playing selfishly either. He dished out 11 assists. He also took just 34 shots to get the 71 points, as he went to the foul line 25 times, making 20. That helped.

He scored 24 points in the third quarter to cut the Cavs’ deficit to five heading into the 4th quarter. He added 18 more to force overtime. He needed to score that many points to get a win for Cleveland. That’s what made it even more special.

He took only two more shots in the same game as Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan, who scored 44 points taking 32 shots. And on the same night, Golden State’s Klay Thompson hoisted 39 shots, scoring 54 points and doled out just three helpers.

We were in attendance on March 28, 1990 when Michael Jordan scored 69 points against the Cavs, and he took 37 shots in that one, and he went to the line 23 times. After the game, Lenny Wilkens remarked that since Jordan fired the ball 37 times, he should’ve scored 69.

That game also went overtime.

By the way, in Bryant’s 81 point night in 2006? He shot 46 times in 42 minutes. Mitchell played 50 minutes in his history making night.

What an incredible game. They don’t come about that often. It was almost 17 years since Bryant’s outburst. We are sure everyone will remember it for years to come.

Love’s Career Arc Has Not Been Seen Here.

When Kevin Love arrived in Cleveland, he was 26 years old and coming off a season in which he scored 26.1 points and grabbed 12.5 rebounds per game. He made the All Star team, and was second team all-NBA twice in his career.

Cleveland traded the first overall pick in the previous draft, Andrew Wiggins, along with another first overall pick in Anthony Bennett to Minnesota to bring him to the Cavaliers, thus forming a “Big Three” with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Love’s numbers took a dip, mostly because he was no longer the first option offensively, dropping to 16.4 points a night, and his shooting numbers dropped, and so did his rebounding totals.

No player sacrificed his individual numbers more than Love, and while James remained with the team, no one was more of a whipping boy for the fans. Whenever the Cavs didn’t play well, the fingers usually pointed at Love. We always thought fans figured he was going to average 25 points per game here, but he was getting around 17-18 shots a contest with the Timberwolves. That number dropped to around 13 here.

The deal paid off for the Cavs and Love with the 2016 NBA title, and Love had his signature moment late in the fourth quarter with a great defensive possession against Steph Curry. He was the first player James hugged as the clock ticked to zero.

Irving was traded after the former UCLA standout’s third year in town and James left following the next year, both of which ended with losses to Golden State in The Finals.

When James left, the Cavaliers gave Love a long term, very highly paid contract to keep him in town and he became the best player and the face of the franchise.

But injuries started to hit as Love turned 30. The first post-James season was a disaster, Cleveland finishing just 19-63 and the team’s star played only 22 games, due to a toe injury on his left foot which needed surgery. He averaged 17 points and almost 11 rebounds but shot just 38.5%.

The next year, he clashed with John Beilein and seemed to have a problem with how some of his young teammates played the game. Injuries limited him to only 25 games the following, and folks started to wonder how GM Koby Altman could figure out how to move Love’s large contract.

Last year, Love agreed to have his minutes reduced to stay healthy, and it helped that the Cavs doubled their win total. Now a veteran leader, he played 74 games, scoring 13.6 points and gathering 7.2 caroms in 22.5 minutes a night.

He was once again an important player on a winning team, and he seemed to buy in, embracing a leadership role.

This year, with the Cavs off to a 7-1 start, after trading for Donovan Mitchell, he’s at 12.4 and 7.2 a night. Friday night against Detroit, he had 10 assists and was two rebounds shy of a triple double.

We write about this because we can’t think of a Cleveland athlete with the career arc of Kevin Love. From key player on a title team and title contender, to a guy struggling to stay healthy and happy on a losing squad, to a key part of a young team seemingly ready to contend again.

It’s hard to believe, but this is Love’s ninth season with the wine and gold. Most athletes don’t play here long enough to go through that cycle of contention. He’s 9th in franchise history in points, 7th in rebounds, and second to James in three-point field goals.

Someday, his number will be hoisted to the rafters for his contributions to this franchise. And it seems now, the fan base realizes how important he is to winning, now as a long-range shooter, who can still rebound. He’s also the Cavs’ king of drawing charges, and his young mates call him “grandpa” or “uncle”.

It’s great to see, particularly because he sacrificed a lot of numbers in order to win here. Glad to see him get his due.

It’s Not Fair, But We See Both Sides Of Cavs, Sexton Situation

It seems the Cavaliers and Collin Sexton are in for an awkward 2022-23 season. Sexton is a restricted free agent and reportedly would like a multiyear deal, but the two sides are far apart in terms of the money.

Sexton is said to want around $18-20 million per year, while the Cavs have offered a reported $13 million per season, presumably to stay under the luxury tax level for another year.

This is one of those situations where both sides are justified in their positions, and the best thing would be for Sexton to take the one year qualifying offer of $8.6 million for next season.

From the wine and gold’s standpoint, Sexton has been a productive player, albeit on real bad teams. He did average 24.3 points and 4.4 assists for Cleveland in 2020-21, but the team went 22-50 that year.

Last year, the Cavs got to the play in tournament and a chance to make an actual best-of-seven series, but Sexton missed most of the campaign with a knee injury, playing in just 11 games.

So, it depends how people view Sexton coming into his fifth year in the league. Is he a budding all-star, a player coming off an injury, or a guy who has demonstrated the ability to put up big numbers on a bad team?

As for Sexton, we are sure he would like a long term deal from the Cavaliers or any other NBA team, but right now, he doesn’t seem to be drawing any interest from around the league.

It could be because most teams are up against the salary cap right now, so the money simply isn’t there to sign a free agent from another team. Or it could be that Sexton is an strange fit, a 6’2″ off guard, who might be best served coming off the bench.

As we said before, we can see both sides on this one. Sexton has shown he can put up numbers in the NBA, but at this point, there doesn’t seem to be a market for him. On the other hand, for the Cavs, he probably was their best player heading into last season, but things change, and right now, he might be their fourth or fifth best player.

Timing is everything, and for Sexton, getting hurt and the Cavaliers having their best season since the departure of LeBron James (and the arrival of Sexton) is unfortunate for the player.

Things may loosen up on the sign-and-trade market once the situations are resolved with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Donovan Mitchell too. The Cavs and Sexton might even be involved to make things work under the salary cap.

Some things in life aren’t fair, but the best option for Collin Sexton might be to play under the qualifying offer this season, show everyone around the league what kind of player he can be, and see what his value is around the NBA.

And if the Cavaliers make the playoffs in 2022-23 and Sexton is a key contributor to that effort, he can and will make Koby Altman dig deep into his pockets to keep him around. If Sexton still wants to be around at that point.

Big Summer For Many NBA Teams, Cavs Included

Well, it’s now official. The Cleveland Cavaliers will have the 14th overall pick in next month’s NBA Draft, although it would have been an extreme long shot for them to have moved up.

The Cavs are the best team, record wise, in the league that didn’t make the playoffs, and with a young core of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, this is an important off-season for GM Koby Altman and his staff.

However, it’s also an important summer for some of the league’s big market teams, and could anything those teams do influence the wine and gold?

What will the Los Angeles Lakers do? Yes, they have LeBron James, but their roster looks like one of a good team, in 2012. What do they do to surround James with the right kind of talent and can Anthony Davis ever stay healthy?

What of the Brooklyn Nets? Will they run back the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving show or totally restructure their roster, even moving the recently acquired Ben Simmons. They could be looking for a rebuild this summer.

The New York Knicks made the playoffs in 2020-21, but returned to their normal lottery spot last season. Are they satisfied with a Julius Randle and RJ Barrett combination going into the ’22-’23 season? And will they continue to hold Obi Toppin hostage?

What does this have to do with the Cavaliers? If those teams make big moves, cap space will probably be needed and perhaps Altman can pick up a nice piece for the Cavs because salaries do not match up.

Remember, that’s how Cleveland got Allen, a 23-year-old seven footer, who became an all star last season.

If you didn’t know, by rule, the Cavs cannot announce a trade of their first round draft pick before the selection is made. That pick is an asset though, and may be used to bring in a veteran player. We say veteran because we believe there is plenty of youth on the roster, so another young guy could be superfluous.

On the other hand, you might get an experienced college player who gets bypassed early in the draft because every team looks to project on players.

We have seen the Cavs linked to Kansas senior 6’5″ guard Ochai Agbaji. He could probably make a contribution right away, and at least one draft website compared him to Desmond Bane of Memphis. If he wound up being close to the player Bane is, that would be great.

The other player who seems like a good fit and may be available is Ohio State G Malaki Branham, also 6’5″. Just a freshman, he may take longer to be a contributor on a team that should have playoff asperations.

Altman also needs to decide on some bench players. It seems clear they don’t have a good handle on what to do with players like Cedi Osman and Dylan Windler, so it’s time to cut bait.

And no more roster spots for guys who can’t play, like Ed Davis, or bringing in someone like Kevin Pangos.

And make no mistake, barring injuries, the Cavaliers need to qualify for the real playoffs next season, meaning a best-of-seven series. No more play in games.

They made the giant leap to contender in 2021-22, and this young core of good players needs to get in the playoffs.

Love Is Back And Helping Cavs Win.

When LeBron James decided to leave the Cavaliers and sign with the Los Angeles Lakers following the 2018-19 season, Kevin Love became remaining member of the franchise’s “Big Three”.

We know Kyrie Irving, the other player in the trio that led the Cavs to their only NBA title was dealt prior to that season, but the wine and gold made it back to The Finals for a 4th consecutive year anyway.

After the departure of both James and Irving, Dan Gilbert offered Love a boatload of money on a contract extension, and our guess would be the promise of continuing to compete here in Cleveland. After all, Tyronn Lue was still at the helm, and the franchise still had Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, etc.

Our comment about continuing to compete is speculation, because he don’t know for sure, and we have never met Kevin Love.

We are sure the organization thought rookie Collin Sexton, the 8th overall pick in the NBA Draft would be able to help the veterans as well.

But Love injured his big toe and missed most of the season, playing in just 21 games, scoring 17 points and grabbing almost 11 rebounds per night.

By the time training camp started in 2019-20, the Cavaliers had a new coach, longtime college headman John Beilein, and added another smaller young guard in Darius Garland, and the rebuilding phase of the team was in full bloom.

For an all star player who played six years in various rebuilding programs in Minnesota before being traded to Cleveland, coinciding with James returning to the franchise, we are sure it was a bitter pill.

It wasn’t what he signed (or re-signed in his case) up for.

We aren’t saying Love handled the frustration well. He had temper tantrums. He called out his coach, who had never coached at the NBA level before, and he was frustrated with his teammates, particularly the younger guys.

He still averaged 17.6 points and almost 10 rebounds per night, and many times was playing center, a position he was no longer big enough to play on a night in, night out basis.

We also believe Love was frustrated by the lack of accountability the younger players were held to. It was as if they were allowed to not pay attention to detail without consequences.

Last year was another injury riddled year, as the veteran missed all but 25 games with a calf issue, and only averaged 24 minutes a night when he did take the floor.

The drop in availability, temperament, and production made his contract an albatross on the franchise. No team wanted to make a move for Kevin Love.

This season, the Cavs are winning for the first time since James departed and Love is rejuvenated. Embracing a bench role, averaging just 20 minutes per contest, Love is scoring 12 points and grabbing 7 boards per game.

He can still rebound with the best and he’s back to looking for that long outlet pass that was his trademark. He’s more of a sniper offensively, looking for the three point shot, and knocking down 40% in the young season.

And his defensive effort is better with the reduced playing time. J.B. Bickerstaff has made playing the right way a mandate and Love no longer has to compete with bigger centers because of the presence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

The man can still play. We aren’t condoning the attitude issues he showed the past few seasons, just saying we understand. Once you experience winning, it’s tough to not have it.

It’s funny how things look better to everyone when winning is in the equation.

Cavs “Greatest 8” After 50 Years

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be celebrating their 50th season this season and it is the only franchise in town where we can say we have been there since the beginning.

Before that, NBA basketball in Cleveland was limited to the visits the Cincinnati Royals made each year to our fair city.

In the last year before the Cavs existed, the Royals made four stops at the Cleveland Arena, the final game was played on February 3, 1970, a game won by the Los Angeles Lakers, 124-114.

Jerry West led the way for the Lakers with 38 points, while Tom Van Arsdale had 36 for the Royals.

The Cavaliers entered the league at the same time as the Buffalo Braves and Portland Trailblazers. The league probably thought they were doing the expansion teams a solid by scheduling them for 12 games each against each other.

Obviously, LeBron James is the greatest player ever to wear the Cavs’ uniform, leading the franchise to not only their only championship, but was also the focal point for all five Eastern Conference titles won by the team.

Depending on your point of view, he is one of the three best players to ever play in the NBA.

As soon as he retires, his #23 will hang from the rafters, and we would presume a statue will be erected outside Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Who else would be on the Cavaliers’ top eight players (starters and first subs) in franchise history?

We would start with the only other Cavalier besides James to achieve first team all NBA honors, and that would be Mark Price.

Price is still 5th in all time scoring and 2nd in assists and steals in club history. In addition to his first team All-NBA accolade (1992-93), he was third team three times (’88-’89, ’91-’92, and ’93-’94). He was on the second Cleveland team to lose in the Eastern Conference finals.

Kyrie Irving would be the other guard. It’s really a no brainer to add the four time (with Cleveland) all-star and the guy who made the biggest shot in franchise history. He also was third team All-NBA in 2014-15.

The center was so close we kept two as both Brad Daugherty and Zydrunas Ilgauskas make our “Great 8”.

Both had major injury problems throughout their career (Daugherty’s back issues caused him to retire at 28, while Ilgauskas battled foot problems), but Daugherty was a four time all star and is still 3rd all time in scoring and rebounding, and as a center, is 7th all time in assists.

Ilgauskas is a distant second to James in scoring, and also ranks as the runner-up in games played and rebounding. And he was a starter on the franchise’s first trip to the NBA Finals.

The other forwards, besides James, were mainstays on the early 90’s teams which couldn’t get over the Michael Jordan hurdle: Larry Nance and Hot Rod Williams.

Looking at numbers, you forgot how good Williams was. He ranks 5th in games played, 7th in points, 5th in rebounds, and 2nd in blocked shots in Cavalier history. He was a reserve mostly because Lenny Wilkens loved him as a weapon off the bench, backing up both Daugherty and Nance, and at times playing with them.

Nance is 9th all time in scoring, 8th in boards, 3rd in field goal percentage and blocked shots. He was the final piece in making those teams title contenders. The Cavs were 42-40 the year Nance arrived in a mid-season trade, they won 50 games in three of the next five years.

The last spot on our list goes to franchise icon Austin Carr, whose career was hampered by knee injuries, but was the team’s first star.

Carr was the first overall pick in the draft in 1971, and made the All Star team in his third year with a 21.9 scoring average. He was around 24 PPG the following season when he injured his knee, and became a valuable reserve for the Cavs’ first team that went to the conference finals in 1976.

Those are our Cavs’ “Greatest 8”. The best players Cleveland basketball fans have seen wearing the wine and gold.

Still No Love For Kevin Love

It is a yearly rite of passage for Cleveland professional basketball fans. Each and every year after the playoffs end, there are those who talk about trading Kevin Love.

And we keep thinking that mostly, this makes no sense.

Yes, Love is injury prone, the most games he has ever played in a season with the Cavaliers is 77, and that was in his first year here. He played 75 the following season, and from there it has gone downhill: 60, 59, and last season, 21, although he could have played more if the Cavs were trying to make the playoffs.

And yes, the game has evolved too, and the sport where Love once averaged 26 points and almost 13.5 rebounds per contest is no longer being played. Teams want big men who can defend on the perimeter now, to contest the three point shot, and that isn’t Love’s strength, although he does make an effort.

However, Love is still unquestionably the Cavaliers best player. Shooting a career low 38.5% from the floor, he still scored 17 points and grabbed almost 11 boards per game.

Part of that came from getting to the free throw line with a greater frequency (5.2 per game) than he ever did wearing the wine and gold, his best figure since his last year with Minnesota (8.2 per game).

Many people forget that Love has two second team All NBA honors during his career, which is one more than Kyrie Irving, who made second team this season, and a third team honor with the Cavs.

These “experts” think there is only one way to build an NBA team these days, and that is by tanking and being successful in the draft. Of course, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary as Golden State and Toronto, who have won the last three titles, have not tanked to win.

We aren’t saying we would keep Love under any circumstance, in fact, there are very few players in that category, LeBron James being one of them.

For example, the Cavs were said to entertain offers for Irving after the 2016 season, because if then GM David Griffin could have improved the team in a deal for the former first overall pick, then he absolutely should do that.

We understand Love makes a lot of money, but if Cleveland get under the cap, which they will even with Love on the roster heading into the 2020-21 season, they aren’t attracting big name free agents.

The Cavs played much better when Love was on the floor a year ago, so why not let Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman, Ante Zizic, and the three rookies, Darius Garland, Dylan Windler, and Kevin Porter Jr. play with a still very good player and learn good habits from a five time all star?

If you can make a trade that decidedly helps the franchise, then by all means, make the deal.

For example, we keep hearing Portland as a destination. Then 22-year-old seven footer Zach Collins would have to be involved along with at least one unprotected first round draft pick, preferably after the 2020 draft.

Getting a young big and a future first rounder can make a positive impact for Cleveland.

And if Kawhi Leonard winds up with the Lakers, it would be surprising to see anyone make a huge offer for Love.

If he doesn’t, we still think Love has more value at the trade deadline, where someone can use him, providing he is healthy, as a chip to put them over the top.

Until Koby Altman gets “wowed” with a deal, there is no reason to trade the best player on the team. Unless that player is about to be a free agent, or causing a problem in the locker room, there usually never is.