The biggest issue is Love's contract. I don't think he's worth that amount over that long. Also, his disappearance in the Finals is fresh in my mind. That being said, idk why Cleveland trades for Dwight unless they want his expiring contract for cap room
I'm glad someone did! Wish I could have come up with something catchier, but my poor attempt is probably what he deserves. ;-)-
Yes, love is a good player but he is not a winner per se. Like you mentioned, he did not do anything to help the wolves make the playoffs or remotely better. Cavs only are really good because of Lebron. Him having experience in the latter stages of playoffs is thanks to Lebron. Love is the type of player that gets numbers that cannot translate to wins. You don't want players like that. As you mentioned, he is a good primary offensive player. He has to be the focal point for him to go off and get some buckets. You have to pass him the ball in the post and let him do some work (and the rockets can't pass it in the post). When you make Love just play pick and pop, and his shot doesn't go in, he is a ****ty player to have on the court. You're right about the offense and defense not existing but you have to take into account the roster you have right now even if it is not set in stone. Having Love means giving up many points in the paint regardless of who you have trying to cover for him. The person who has to cover for love then would be in foul trouble all the time. The fact is the Rockets already have a player in Harden who doesn't like to play defense. Bringing in Love is building a culture of No defense and you do not win championships like that. You're already starting out negative when your star player who has to set the tone doesn't play defense, adding more non defensive players is just a recipe for disaster.
Ordinarily I would have voted yes. But Kevin Love doesn't fit our system now. He is more of a half court type player and I would value Dwight's defense in the half court over Love's, especially since it probably won't be emphasized. Rather keep the cap space for players that can get up and down the court.
Who cares about the regular season games? You can miss 20 games and still be ok, his main issue is he always gets injured in the playoffs. Dude is just way too fragile, if you think about it since his team is always missing the playoffs Love has not been subjected to the regular "grind" that other stars experience every year, and he's still missing games due to a variety of reasons from a separated shoulder last year to a concussion this year. If he's already like this now what condition will he be a couple of years down the road? I've never heard of anyone with a "Mr. Glass" reputation suddenly become an iron man after experiencing sustained playoff appearances, but we regularly see previously indestructible athletes start looking more mortal, guys like Dwight, Lebron and KD never missed games before but are suffering injuries now. Is it a coincidence the only game he didn't play in the Cavs trounced GSw by 30 pts, and then he played 20 mins the next game and presto Cavs lost by double digits again. Dude's obviously still injured from the concussion and just "toughing" it out because he doesn't want to Mr. MIA 2 seasons in a row. To top it all off, Love was the one who didn't want to play with Harden and Howard because they "weren't winners"! The dude who can't even get his team to the playoffs and is always injured when he does get into a super team? LMAO not only is he Mr. Glass apparently he also lacks awareness.
And Love's +/- is really bad, apparently he's only useful if he gets a lot of touches or has the offense go through him because his D is horrible and without a lot of touches he can't find his rthym on his shot. And this is assuming his health holds up, which I doubt it will. Love's playstyle involves a lot of contact, he isn't extremely quick and athletic so he gets his rebs by banging for position against opposing big men so I think people who assume he will be healthy moving forward are just too optimistic, he's gonna keep getting these types of injuries again and again.
Love is a liability in today's game. He's a PF who can't play/defend other positions, can't protect the rim, and can't create his own shot. No matter what numbers he puts up, those weaknesses will get exploited by teams in critical moments. So while it'd be nice to get any value back for Dwight, whom we're likely nothing back for, I'd prefer not taking Love, since his contract/reputation demands that he's a centerpiece for us (and I don't think you can win with him as one).
so you honestly don't think Love is a good fit for Houston? I understand the defensive limitation, but he's an excellent shooter and rebounder. I've watched his game for years and it's hard for me to see how he wouldn't be a perfect fit in MDA's uptempo spread offense. Love seems like the kind of versatile big that would thrive in MDA's system, spreading the floor for James and others while also taking away second chance shooting opportunities from opponents. I think people are forgetting how good Love was before he joined the Cavs, and the adjustments hes had to make in order to fit in and succeed in his role there. This guy is still an all-star at that position and would be putting up much better numbers on most any other team.
Love would fit in better here, and Howard would in Cleveland. I'm not at all worried about Love's game, he's elite rebounder and good scorer. But we would have to put a strong, defensive minded 4 next to him. If Noah has anything left, I'd love a Love / Noah front court. Sign H. Barnes to near max (hope his game evolves like Hardens did), and trade Ariza / Bev for a PG (Dragic? salaries match plus Miami fills 2 positions for 1 player, let Deng walk and pay Whiteside and Wade). A roster of Love, Noah, Barnes, Harden, Dragic ain't too shabby.
Say what you want about howard but the mans played pretty well in the playoffs. Kevin love has a game here and there but against gs so far he's been missing. Kevin from home alone missing.
On the Cavs he is, Love NEEDS to be a #1 or 2 option to be successful and effective. Having Love as the 3rd on wheel on offense just doesn't work, he's not good enough defensively, he just isn't effective without having a major role in on offense, and isn't the type of guy who seems to stay involved mentally if he doesn't get touches. I think, if you need a second option (like Houston), or a 1st option (like Celtics) then Love would flourish.
