And so the bidding wars begin. The Cleveland Cavaliers have made it known to the Timberwolves and the whole league that they are now willing to trade Andrew Wiggins in order to acquire the services of Kevin Love. Despite statements from Cavaliers coach David Blatt stating that “Andrew Wiggins isn’t going anywhere.” Apparently somebody in the Cavaliers organization has overridden the new head coach are now discussing possible trade scenarios for arguably the best Power Forward in the game. Kevin Love has publicly stated at the end of last season that he will not re-sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves and intends to play somewhere else once he becomes a free agent. As was the case with CP3, Dwight Howard, Melo and other star players before him, unless Love’s respective team wants to lose him for nothing they must trade him. However, the only two teams that have the means to make this move (As far as we know) are the Golden State Warriors & the Cleveland Cavaliers. And the only reason that neither deal has been made is because Golden State does not want to give up Klay Thompson for Love, and until recently the Cavaliers seemed unwilling to give up Andrew Wiggins for Love. However, in the case of the Cavaliers this Kevin Love trade is still fairly in the beginning stages since the only reason this is even now an option for the Cav’s is because LeBron James is now there.
The whole Kevin Love trade saga has been the most perplexing and interesting storylines this off season. What makes this story unique, is the fact that Kevin Love is the First NBA star of the past 5 years to be questioned in the process of trading for him. Allow me to explain…….
In about a three year span form 2010 to 2012, after LeBron James’s “Decision” we witnessed three of the top ten players in the NBA demand trades and move on from the teams that drafted them. These three players were Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard. Each player during their time leading to being traded had their own unique drama involved. You had Melo requesting a trade mid-season, CP3’s original trade to the Lakers being rejected, and you had Dwight Howard’s unusual indecisiveness on whether he actually wanted to be traded or not. However, in spite of all the drama that went on in their respective quest to be traded, it was never a point in time where teams, fans, & the media questioned whether or not that player was actually WORTH trading for. It was never a question that Melo, CP3, Or Howard were getting traded, the only question was when, where, & who was being traded to acquire them. Which brings us back to Kevin Love, for all tentative purposes Kevin love should have been traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for David Lee & Klay Thompson. But for some odd reason, the Warriors camp are so high on Klay Thompson that they think Love is not worth losing Thompson for. Which to me is completely ridiculous!! Klay Thompson is not better than Kevin Love, he’s not even on the same level of Stephen Curry……and Curry isn’t better than Kevin Love. If you have been following this story you probably have heard a large number of detractors criticizing Kevin Love for his lack of defense, him playing just to get his stats (Points & Rebounds), and most importantly, Love’s inability to “Carry his team to the playoffs.” Now, if you are an avid sports fan like me, there’s probably a 99% chance you have heard that statement from either a TV personality (Mostly ESPN employees) or a Columnist/Journalist/Blogger. It’s one of most clichéd, created “attributes” used to describe individual great players that play a team sport. This term has been used to describe guys like LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers, just to name a few guys from the NBA & NFL. I’m here to tell you that is the most ignorant statement that anybody can make when describing a player. For the simple fact that an individual player playing a TEAM sport can somehow overcompensate for his other teammates and somehow singlehandedly “Will his team to victory.” Is just silly. It’s just a fancy way of saying that a player is really good at his team sport and is a big part of their team winning against their opponent. So for people out there to criticize Kevin Love for not making the playoffs in the most competitive conference in the NBA, is just confusing to me. For anyone that believes this crap that Love isn’t an Elite player in the NBA because hasn’t made the playoffs I simply have one question for you, “can you name me one player that Love played with last year that made an all-star team……”
Other elite players in the NBA that came before Kevin Love like Melo, CP3, Dwight Howard, even LeBron James who left to play for a winning team; they all made the playoffs and had success in their careers before deciding to jump ship. Kevin Love is the only player out that group to try forcing his way out of a team without making the playoffs prior to leaving; and it is that simple fact that is preventing the Golden State Warriors from making a deal to acquire arguably the best power forward in the NBA; and that’s just wrong. Nobody ever questions Calvin Johnson being the best Wide Receiver in the NFL, nor does anybody question that Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFL. But yet they both came into the league the same year and neither of them has made it to a Super Bowl. As a matter of fact, Calvin Johnson has only been to the playoffs once in his ENTIRE CAREER. But nobody criticizes him for not being able to “Will his team to victory.” The last time Adrian Peterson even won a playoff game was when Brett Favre was playing in the NFL. So why is Kevin Love held to a different standard? Ultimately Love is going to be playing for another team whether this season or next. The only question is which team, between Cleveland and Golden State, is going to be smart enough to make the move? Stay tuned!
– JRC
Product Of Society 