Is a 'Kevin Love to the Celtics' trade possible?


Kevin Love has been the odd man out of the big three in Cleveland for almost his entire time with the Cavaliers. He hasn't meshed with the offense as well as David Blatt, and also Cavs GM David Griffin, have wanted him to. It's translated to career lows in field goal percentage, three point field goal percentage, and his fewest points per game since 2009.

The Cavs originally traded for an All-Star who averaged 26.1 PPG, but now have a guy who averages 16.1 PPG in his stint in Cleveland. The rebounding is still there, but it's clear Love doesn't quite fit in as well as he did in Minnesota. 

"So let's get a trade going! We've got tons of big guys that could fit with the Cavs, and Love would play soooo well in our offense... Stretching the floor with Isaiah... Say hello to number 18!"

Alright, calm down. There's a lot of things to sort through before we jump into the Love Shack. Firstly, Griffin claims he will not trade Kevin Love. Now, I believe him because he just fired Head Coach David Blatt, he's putting a new guy at the helm, and I don't think shipping off one of your best players is going to help your chase for a title. 

Secondly, there are only a few weeks before the February 18th trade deadline, and Griffin doesn't know what he has yet with new Head Coach Tyronn Lue. Love obviously didn't fit with Blatt's offense, but maybe Lue has the secret to unlock Kevin Love's potential. Maybe... or maybe not. Turns out there might already be some controversy between the power forward and the new head coach. And if that leads to Love playing even worse, maybe we will see a trade appear. 

But Griffin claims he's not even entertaining the idea of dealing Love. Well, my colleagues here at Celtics Life have reminded me that GM's have never been particularly honest with the media. Our own GM Danny Ainge was adamantly denying any possibility of a Rondo trade, and then suddenly Rajon was gone. Sacramento Kings GM Vlade Divac is making the same claims about DeMarcus Cousins. So are Divac and Griffin telling the truth, or are they just trying to keep the media out of it?

If the C's do decide to pursue it regardless of Griffin's claims, there are rumors of what Boston might give. Queue Dan Feldman:

Is it worth it? Personally I wouldn't want to ditch Crowder, but the Celtics might have to give up something that hurts--Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, or one of our rookies. Avery Bradley could help the Cavs, especially with Iman Shumpert's injuries and J.R. Smith's disappearance during the NBA Finals against the Warriors last year.

It's tough to say what Boston would have to deal to acquire Kevin Love, but for now allegedly he's not even on the block.

Topher Lane is on Twitter, @Topher_L. He does not think Kevin Love is the only piece missing for number 18. Photo Cred: David Richard/USA Today Sports
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