The Celtics should try to acquire Kevin Love this off-season
One of the most debated trade rumors regarding the Boston Celtics is about the acquisition of Kevin Love. It’s almost certain that his name is going to come up in the upcoming off-season once again, as the Celtics will try hard to land a high impact player.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Kevin Love, they considered him to be a major part of their championship caliber team. After his first two season in Ohio though, he looks like a poor fit to the team, as he acts mostly as a common stretch-four who at the same time is a liability in Cavs’ defense.
Love’s performance so far in the NBA Finals, as well as Cleveland’s success with or without him, have put him in a weird spot. His stock seems to be at its lowest point right now because of the first five games of the Finals.
Fair or not, Kevin Love’s defense was regarded as the main reason behind the Warriors’ win in the first two games in Oakland. Then when Love missed Game 3, the Cavs played their best basketball of the series. Therefore, the question remains: Are the Cavaliers better without Kevin Love?
The most likely scenario for the Celtics is that they will improve if they acquire Love because, in my opinion, he seems like a great fit for the team. The Boston franchise is a much different story than Cleveland, as Danny Ainge along with Brad Stevens have a built a solid organization with defined roles in every step of the way.
Unlike the Cavs, the Celtics don’t want Love just to be the third option of their potential ‘Big 3’. They need Love to put the team in the best position to succeed. A situation like this would be a chance for Love’s rebirth and an opportunity for Boston to add a high quality player to their roster.
Despite all this Kevin Love saga, how possible is it for Cleveland to actually trade Love, and especially to Boston? Many teams in the NBA could be intrigued by the number three pick that Celtics hold in the draft, but Cleveland isn’t one of them.
The Cavs aren’t in a situation that they want to add a young, inexperienced guy, even with a huge upside right now. What they need is players ready to contribute from day one and that’s because they want to win now. So it’s perhaps a bit hard for Boston to lure Cleveland with all these draft picks in order for this trade to take place.
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However, one of the Cavaliers’ needs is to strengthen their wing defense and Boston has plenty of that. The Cavs perhaps will need proven players like Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder or Marcus Smart to consider trading Kevin Love to Boston. So the deciding factor for this trade to happen will be Celtics’ willingness to give up some of these guys or not.
In his best NBA season so far back in 2011-12, Love averaged 26 points and 13 rebounds, while this year he scored 16 points and grabbed almost 10 rebounds.
What has happened? Isn’t Kevin Love capable of playing at the highest level any longer or is his role in Cleveland that limits his strengths and full potential?
But first, the Celtics’ front office has to answer the most important question: Can a change of scenery and a move to Boston bring back the Kevin Love the Celtics wanted a few years ago?
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And even though this is an issue that needs to be examined by the team, there is no doubt that there might be no better time to make a strong run at him than this summer with the hope that Brad Stevens’ presence and Boston’s new environment will make him a great fit for the Celtics.