I get why they made the deal. Wiggins plays the same position as LeBron and he was only 19 when he was drafted. The Cavs clearly were in win now mode the moment LeBron returned. But given how Love was out for the entire postseason last year after the first round and the Cavs proceeded to go 4-2 in the Semis, 4-0 in the ECF(without home court), and went up 2-1 on the Warriors and took them to 6 games(even without Kyrie for 5+ games), it does beg the question whether they have any need for the guy. Especially after they smoked the Warriors by 30 last night and it just happened to be in the one game Love hasn't played in the Finals. Cleveland may look back in a few years and really regret that deal.
What really got me on how stupid this deal is that it wasn't just a straight up swap for Love and Wiggins, it was Wiggins ON A ROOKIE SCALE DEAL vs Love maxxed up. This mean if you kept Wiggins Cavs woud have had more room to sign other guys, maybe not another max contract but the value of another guy added to Wiggins makes it lopsidedly in favor of keeping him. Also everyone keeps talking about how Bron and Wiggins played the same spot, but that's just not true. In winning time Lebron goes PF so actually what they need is a wing more than a PF, you can see in the last game it was Jefferson (who should be playing SF) who stepped up. Bron isn't a jump shooter, he's best in the post where he can utilize all of his skills offensively instead of taking Js in the lane.
When the Cavs go small, yes, LeBron plays the 4. But ordinarily, he'd be at the 3 and that's Wiggins position as well. But you're right about the contract situation. Something to keep in mind is that Love was a free agent last summer. Not only did the Cavs give up Wiggins who would've been signed to a rookie deal, but they were at risk of losing Love for nothing. He did eventually resign(albeit at a high cost), but Cleveland could've wound up coughing up Wiggins for less than a year of Love's services had he not.
This thread's resurrection gives me the benefit of hindsight. At the time of the trade it made sense for the Cavaliers to acquire Kevin Love; he'd been so great in Minnesota for so long. I haven't watched every Cavs game this season (that would require NBA League Pass, unlike the Warriors---what game of the Warriors wasn't shown on NBATV, ABC, TNT, ESPN?), but in the games I've seen, you've basically reduced Love in his third wheel role to an overpaid if still better version of Patrick Patterson. In Love's case, he looks a little timid and unsure of himself. Mechanical, even. As a team's second option, he'd shine a bit more. To be a team's first option, he'd get bigger numbers but fewer wins (as he did back on the TWolves). A shame now for the Cavs that they don't have Wiggins because he'd be a better fit overall but that's water under the bridge. I wouldn't be stunned if Kevin Love were dealt this summer.....again, not because he isn't good, but because he isn't an overall fit.
Agree with all this. First, I thought GSW was dumb for not trading Thompson for Love. Turns out, I was the dumb one. Very, very dumb. Then, I thought Cleveland would be dumb to not trade Wiggins for Love. Turns out that yet again, I was the dumb one. Now, I still think the Rockets should trade* for Kevin Love. Will I be proven to be dumb yet again? Probably. But damn I think he would help us out, and it'd be comforting to know that he's locked up in his deal. *Of course this won't happen since we have no trade assets thanks to us making the playoffs and SVG thinking better of trading for a big man with back problems.
Wiggins has not really played well on the offensive or defensive side of the ball. http://www.todaysfastbreak.com/nba-west/minnesota-timberwolves/andrew-wiggins-needs-lot-work/ I think they the Cavs really should have gone after paul milsap.
I do believe the Cavs were right in trading Wiggins because they are in win now mode, but I think they could have gotten a stronger piece than Love. He just didn't fit as well as they thought he would and Love is quite a bit overrated in general.
Its not just when they go small ball, if you watched Miami the main reason Miami won 2 rings and 1 finals is because they had LBJ playing PF, where he was always a mismatch because LBJ is really Malone with Kobe's quickness physically. As an SF Lebron can't really use his huge build to his advantage because he can't bully people in the lane and the SFs he's going up against are just as quick as he is. What I was thinking is if they kept Wiggins they could've spent more money on another guy (maybe Deng), and then that guy along with Lebron and Irving could have carried the team now. In 2-3 years when LBJ starts declining, Wiggins could then take up the slack along with Irving. While Love is also still young (26?), he's extremely injury prone prior to the trade I don't think he's had a 100% healthy season for the last 2-4 years so I was totally against it. Worst of all Cavs were planning to keep TT due to him being part of LBJ's agency, all in all they had like 3 PFs all making the max or near the max (TT, Love, LBJ).
Maybe Lebron didn't want to play PF anymore. Didn't he lose a bunch of weight before joining the Cavs?
that was toooooo muchhhh! can't make it to the playoffs in Minnesota - can lead a team to the finals and win>!>!
Hindsight is 20/20. Nobody could have predicted the Warriors were going to go from 51 wins and meh to the juggernaut they are now. Hell, if Love and Kyrie played during the playoffs and the Cavs faced a normal opponent (as opposed what eventually became the best team in NBA history), they might have won a ring last year.
If you're referring to last year you had better duck for cover since the Spurs lost in the first round and OKC didn't even make the playoffs
I dont disagree with you. There would be a lot of options better than Wiggins for the Cavs instead of Love. The reason why we compare the two is because they were traded for each othe, and that because of Love, Lebron cant play the position most suited to him at this stage of his career. Wiggins will be more effective as the 3rd/4th option, and his defense would be better out of the Timberwolves. He'd be a better fit on the rookie scale right now and gives the Cavs more roster/salary flexibility.
You don't need hindsight Love was all set to become a free agent in 1 freaking year, if you really wanted him why not wait for 1 year and get him in FA? This is like Melo 2.0, making a shortsighted trade when you can get the guy for free with just capspace and waiting like 1 year. With Lebron on the squad and the East being extremely weak you will make the finals anyway this is going all in for no reason. Plus like I said in playoffs Lebron plays PF to actually secure wins so even without hindsight it was a dumb trade. PS: Cavs already had a ton of leverage and Love wanted out of Minny and wouldn't sign with any team except Cleveland. Why trade Wiggins when you could get away with sending them someone like Waiters instead? Cavs were bidding against themselves Minny had no choice as Love scared away potential teams by threatening to walk away after 1 year. If they don't like Wiggins fine, package him for somebody else don't give him to Minny just for kicks.
