This Thread May Surprise You - But It's No Joke

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm with Cool in concluding that the time to trade Love is upon us. I also agree we will see a nice bidding war develop that will give us the opportunity to get a good return for Love.

It stands to reason that the teams willing to give the most will be those who can get a commitment from Love to re-sign with them. Those teams would include Chicago, Golden State, Houston and possibly Phoenix. However, never underestimate the ego of some owners and GMs. There will likely be a few teams willing to give up a lot for Love even without a commitment from Love believing that they will have enough success with Love next season to keep him. And honestly it's not a huge stretch for a lot of Eastern Conference teams to conclude that Love would make them a top tier team in their Conference. Cleveland and Atlanta are a couple teams that come to mind. Even some Western Conference teams will likely offer a lot for Love without a commitment -- especially West Coast teams who might see a regional advantage in the fact that Love is from the West Coast. The Kings appear willing to enter the fray and I'll bet they'll offer a nice package for Love.

Agreed, Lip. Exactly why I fully believe Cleveland will be in play. Dan Gilbert is as arrogant as it gets.

No. 1, Waiters, Thompson and a future 1st. I'm actually happy with that package and I expect that to be the best one possible. Gilbert knows he has to do something to keep Kyrie, despite Kyrie saying he won't leave. They just traded for a Luol Deng rental. Think he doesn't have the balls to do the same for a Kevin Love? Two stars on one team. Cleveland back in the playoffs.

I keep seeing people say, "No way the Cavs give up No. 1 for Love." I think they're selling Cleveland short on how badly they want star power. Gilbert's made promises and has yet to cash in. If one thing's certain, he actually does spend money on his team. Did it when LeBron was there too, but the moves weren't good ones.

Have to think trading for Love would be a win for the Cavs AND Wolves.

[bleedspeed]

I would be extremely happy with that package for Love.

I would try to get Bennett over Thompson though.

David Thorpe comments on him - "We discussed his overall talent here a few weeks ago. A Bennett who is 6-8 and can get down to about 230 pounds will be a double-double machine averaging north of 20 points per game. He won't be Kevin Love, but he won't be far from that level, either. Love plays the game with such ferocity now, something that was not evident earlier in his career. Bennett can improve his motor hugely, and, with his sweet-shooting stroke, strong frame, great hands and natural scoring feel, that motor can help carry him to All-Star Games for years. His physical talent will allow him to be a dominant post player with range -- a rare combination."

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

2013 Draft Breakdown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4mD1PFE04c

Bennett doesn't want to be a PF. He wants to be a SF. I don't ever recall Bennett having a dominant post game, nor did I see one on the floor. Jumper doesn't look like he can consistently hit from NBA three point line either.

Question: How does one improve their motor? You can improve your conditioning, but having a good motor is all about mindset and "want to". If you don't want to make hustle plays and do the little things, you just won't. Didn't we see this with Derrick Williams? Guy was in fantastic shape to start off the 2013 campaign. Still didn't look like his motor was any better.

I'll take the established 12/10 player who plays good defense and already has a decent motor, BUT Thompson/Bennett isn't a deal-breaker for me. I just prefer Thompson over a guy that may never be starter quality.

[worldK]

Cleveland is still the best trade out there. #1 pick is the best value for love as there is strong chance that wiggins/parker/embiid will be an all star caliber player down the road and we can get a couple of other assets along with it. If it comes to it, il be in favor of trading pek and martin as well.

In the event of a love trade, we need to hand the keys to rubio. He needs to be the leader and the guy we build around. Time for rubio to step up. We keep forgetting that last season was rubios first full healthy season after coming back from acl. It takes typically 1 and a half season for players tonrecover fully physically. That and being in a contract year, I expect a big year ahead for ricky.

[bleedspeed]

2013 Draft Breakdown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4mD1PFE04c

Bennett doesn't want to be a PF. He wants to be a SF. I don't ever recall Bennett having a dominant post game, nor did I see one on the floor. Jumper doesn't look like he can consistently hit from NBA three point line either.

Question: How does one improve their motor? You can improve your conditioning, but having a good motor is all about mindset and "want to". If you don't want to make hustle plays and do the little things, you just won't. Didn't we see this with Derrick Williams? Guy was in fantastic shape to start off the 2013 campaign. Still didn't look like his motor was any better.

I'll take the established 12/10 player who plays good defense and already has a decent motor, BUT Thompson/Bennett isn't a deal-breaker for me. I just prefer Thompson over a guy that may never be starter quality.

I think everything went wrong that could go wrong with Bennett in year one. I think a team that can develop players would he could blossom. I would take the risk, but we would need the right coach. I think Hoiberg is a guy that could really develop a young team. Mitchell might have learned a few things with his time off from coaching, but I am not so sure. Either way the 1st pick and Waiters would be the keys to this trade. Then do you draft Wiggins or Parker? I lean towards Wiggins because I think he will be a good 2 way player and he would benefit a ton from playing with Rubio more then Parker would.

[repplile [enjin:8691898]]

"Don't let him walk for nothing! Can't let him walk for nothing! If he leaves for nothing, we're screwed!"

What NBA have you been watching the last decade?

How has trading superstar players to big markets or loaded teams worked out for the dregs of the league thus far? How has putting our short-term interests ahead of the long-term health of the league worked out for us and the Cavs and the Bucks and the Magic and all the other non-destination teams so far?

These trade packages are almost always the exact same useless bullshit. A mediocre lottery pick that will almost assuredly not turn into an all-star (let alone a franchise player). A semi-legit young player who will flee the scene the moment his contract is up. A big expiring contract, resulting in loads of cap space we can use to overpay third tier free agents.

If we can't get a top 2-3 pick for Love, or two young players who are already on the cusp, we absolutely shouldn't trade him. At the very least, we won't be complicit in constructing another team we literally cannot beat 3-4 times a year. Better still, we won't be capitulating to the overriding, media-driven narrative that sees so many teams continually funneling their lottery rentals to the "real teams" every 3-5 years.

Time to get off the carousel. If Love wants out, let him walk. Do the same for all the entitled superstars who want to be traded to the best teams for easy shots at rings. Make them choose between taking real paycuts (70%+) to play for the MLE on a loaded team OR signing for max deals with another non-contender.

Besides, we are INFINITELY better positioned moving forward if we gain precisely nothing in exchange for Love. If you're going to bottom out in this league, you have to do it all the way. No half-measures. Set yourselves up for a top 3 pick in 3 straight drafts, nail two minimum, and hope things fall your way to the tune of a 2-3 year window to compete.

That is the reality of the NBA in non-destination markets today.

While I agree with the idea that it would be nice to thwart the media driven star departure narrative I think there's a compelling reason that other secondary market teams haven't done it. If we keep Love and he decides to leave we're in a much worse position basketball wise than we would be if we receive some 'mediocre' talent in return for him for him. The moral high ground isn't going to bring fans to games.

I'd Love to get a top three pick in return for Love but if that's not happening at least can field a competitive team in the near term if we get some players to plug in. I hear people constantly bemoan the 'stuck in the middle' situation as being the worst place to be. I don't think that's empirically true. Most of the teams that bottom out don't seem to pull of Oklahoma City style rebirths and the teams that do are lucky enough to have Kevin Durant or Blake Griffin fall into their laps. You're a lot more likely to end up like Philly, Charlotte, or the Cavs. I don't think we can afford as a fan base to muddle through 3-5 years of a complete rebuild at the cost of sacrificing whatever semblance of a winning culture we've been able to establish post Garnett. People like to see teams that win, and, barring that those that play hard. If we're truly worried about the front office's ability to build a winner we should try and maximize the 'known' assets we receive for Love to help establish some continuity and respectability. You never know when you might luck into a great player through the draft and if you already have a respectable team in place it's a lot easier to move the needle.

[bleedspeed]

After last years draft I have a little more faith in Flip then I have in the past. Dieng was a steal. I have a feeling Shabazz will make a much bigger impact this year. He had a pretty good quality draft. I think the Budinger and LRM moves were more for Adelman then Flip.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Has Love even said/tweeted anything in response to this madness? I thought it was all media conjecture? He's probably just laughing at all the attention.

[Coolbreeze44]

Has Love even said/tweeted anything in response to this madness? I thought it was all media conjecture? He's probably just laughing at all the attention.

Lloyd, I think that silence you hear from both camps is a bigger indication that Love wants out.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Has Love even said/tweeted anything in response to this madness? I thought it was all media conjecture? He's probably just laughing at all the attention.

Hasn't said a word, which might as well be him saying all the rumors are true OR that they aren't completely false.