The Cavaliers are not planning to trade Kevin Love at this point despite losing LeBron James.Tony Dejak/Associated Press
LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in his career last weekend when he agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The deal was done without the fanfare or rancor of his previous departure from “The Land.” James led the Cavs to NBA Finals appearances the last four years, and he was able to bring home an NBA title in 2016.
Owner Dan Gilbert and head coach Tyronn Lue are left to steer the organization following James’ departure. One of the options the Cavs face is a possible teardown that would involve trading their best assets and rebuilding with young talent and draft picks.
That can be a lengthy process, and teams that go that route have no guarantees of success. The Cavs have an All-Star in forward Kevin Love, but Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com confirmed that the Cavaliers are not going to move Love at this point.
Love has two years remaining on his contract, and he is scheduled to earn $50 million over that time frame. Love’s name has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate, but that has not been talked about by those within the organization.
There are no assurances that the Cavs won’t change their minds at some point, but they are going to try to make the playoffs. They struggled quite a bit in the most recent regular season when they finished as the No. 4 playoff qualifier in the Eastern Conference and often struggled with their defensive play before turning it around in the postseason.
Love was the team’s second-leading scorer with an average of 17.3 points per game, and if the playoffs no longer appear to be a possibility at midseason, the Cavaliers may have good reason to reassess the situation.
[embedded content]
The Chicago Bulls have not been one of the more active teams in the offseason. They did not move up or down on draft night, and they have not made any significant moves to this point in free agency.
While they did make a qualifying offer to restricted free agent guard David Nwaba, the negotiations between the team and the player are not proceeding smoothly.
Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweeted that his sources indicate the team is open to a sign-and-trade deal with Nwaba because the two sides are at a “stalemate” in negotiations.
Scotto’s tweet indicated that several teams are interested in Nwaba, who is seen as an effective, energetic player. Nwaba averaged 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while earning $1.3 million in 2017-18. If he plays at the Bulls’ qualifying offer, he will earn $1.7 million in the upcoming season.
The Philadelphia 76ers acquired forward Wilson Chandler from the Denver Nuggets earlier this week in a move that saved the latter team $50 million in combined salary and luxury tax.
However, that may not be the end of Chandler’s moves during the offseason. Since the Sixers acquired Chandler with available salary cap room, he can be traded without any restrictions, according to ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks.
Chandler averaged 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season, and he has scored 13.5 points per night in his career.
The 31-year-old has shown he can be a consistent contributing factor during his career after stints with the New York Knicks and Nuggets, and he could be an asset for the Sixers or any team that makes a move to acquire him.
Let’s block ads! (Why?)