In the midst of what’s turning out to be a disastrous season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are making virtually their entire roster available in trades, including power forward Kevin Love. However, the possibility of any deal for Love prior to the February trade deadline is likely diminished by the veteran’s hefty contract.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders pointed out that the likely need for a complicated deal to move Love may reduce the level of enthusiasm for him around the league:
“The Cavaliers have listened to offers on forward Kevin Love, but league sources doubted that Love’s contract could be moved in-season, given that it would likely take multiple players to make a deal work. Sources said there didn’t seem to be enough demand to think moving Love in-season was likely. Typically, NBA teams find more appetite for big-dollar deals in the off-season when they have the roster flexibility to add multiple players or teams into a deal.”
Love, who’s making $24.1 million this season, signed a contract extension that begins next year and is worth $120 million over the next four seasons. Had he not signed the deal, he would have become an unrestricted free agent this July.
Over the course of his tenure with the Cavaliers, Love has been the subject of constant trade rumors, and until the Cavaliers collapsed this season, his new deal had apparently ended any such trade talk.
Scheduled to return next month from an injured left toe that’s plagued him since the preseason, Love would offer any team a potential double-double performer. The one drawback is that he’s had injuries in the past few seasons that have kept him out for extended periods of time.
