Earlier this week, it was reported that the Portland Trail Blazers may be one of the NBA teams to pony up to trade for Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love.
According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, that’s exactly what Love would prefer.
“Love would prefer to play for his hometown Portland Trail Blazers, according to multiple league sources,” O’Connor wrote. “The Blazers make perfect sense as a destination for Love; they need help for Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum after the team has been decimated by injuries. Last week, Rodney Hood suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon, joining Jusuf Nurkic (broken leg) and Zach Collins (dislocated left shoulder) on the sideline. Nurkic will return this season, and Love would be a terrific frontcourt partner because of his perimeter shooting and playmaking ability. Portland could then play big upfront, which would be valuable in a series against a team with a bigger frontcourt, like the Lakers. Or, it could go with Love at center, which could be useful against the Rockets, who often size down with P.J. Tucker at center.”
Given O’Connor’s in-depth breakdown, it’s not all that surprising why Love would want to end up on the Blazers. Despite all of the aforementioned injuries, a trio of Love, McCollum and Lillard would likely catapult the Blazers to success as they attempt to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second season in a row.
Beyond that, he’d get to return home to possibly play out the rest of his NBA career.
Earlier this week, a potential haul from the Blazers for Love was broken down. The Cavs have not been mum about their desire to acquire both young talent and picks in return for the five-time All-Star.
If the market for Love proves to be competitive, it’s quite possible that the Blazers would have to part ways with both picks and young talent to make a deal work.
