All you Kevin Love trade suitors just need to chill.
The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t trading him—or, for that matter, any other parts of their current core. Not according to general manager David Griffin, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com:
"We intend to keep this group together and see what we're capable of" — Cavs GM David Griffin just now to the #NBAInsiders on @ESPNRadio
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 26, 2016
Never say never, David.
Which you didn’t.
Teams are always listening to trades. There are only a handful of players that are truly untouchable. LeBron James is one of them. He is likely joined by Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant (though he’s a free agent) and Karl-Anthony Towns. That’s about it.
If some team dangled a monster offer for Love (looking at you, Celtics), the Cavaliers would have no choice but to consider pulling the trigger. Even after winning the title, Cleveland isn’t in the ideal situation. The Golden State Warriors remain the better team at full strength and have cap space. And they are still a bad matchup for Love.
While you don’t want to tether your approach to a matchup with one team, things don’t project to get any easier for Love. Squads will continue pushing the bill on small ball, forcing the Cavaliers into some tough lineup decisions. And then there’s always the little factoid that Love plays what should be James’ best position: power forward.
In all likelihood, the win over the Warriors inoculated the Cavaliers against any major changes this offseason, trading Love included. But if there was ever a time when, on the heels of a title run, a superstar should be considered obtainable via trade, it’s this one.
