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Kevin Love has been through a lot throughout his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ever since the team traded Andrew Wiggins for him, he has been the subject of countless trade rumors and scrutiny. Despite proving he can be effective against the Golden State Warriors in last year’s Finals, those trade rumors persisted.
According to a report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Love can breathe easy for the time being as the Cavs currently have no plans to trade him:
The Cavs have contemplated trading Love off and on almost since that series, though they have no plans to do so right now, sources say. (Love does not have much standalone trade value.) They nearly flipped him for Paul George in a three-team trade in late June. It sometimes seems remarkable Love has survived this long in Cleveland, and that he outlasted Irving. Love sulked during much of the 2015-16 season. He absorbed LeBron's passive-aggressive tweets, the dirty looks after botched rotations on defense. It would not have been surprising had the Cavs lost him sometime in the winter of 2016.
The mention that Love does not have much trade value immediately being followed with a mention that he was essentially dealt for Paul George is fairly humorous. But with few obtainable stars still available on the market, it makes sense that the Cavs would not be looking to move Love at this time.
While DeMarcus Cousins name is frequently attached to the team by some analysts, you get the feeling that if the team wanted to do that swap they would have while Cousins was in Sacramento. The Cavs have had enough turmoil this season and Thomas hasn’t always been the easiest to deal with in the locker room, so bringing another unknown factor in Cousins probably isn’t the smartest way to go.
With talk of a larger role, the absence of Irving and Thomas to start the season, and now the assurance that they are not moving him at the moment, the stage is set for Love to establish himself as a dominant force once again.