Kevin Love - Miami Ground Machine

[JMoneyYourHoney]

There's no credible buzz Butler is on the block. The Bulls added Rondo and Wade, this isn't the rebuild some thought they might attempt.

This is what Wade thinks about Butler trade rumors:

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/dwyane-wade-clears-the-air-and-calls-it-jimmy-butlers-team/

This is what LeBron thinks about Love's fit:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/new...g-tristan-thompson/15cp62mlpvtlv1p2j26t8ht7iw

Eh, it was a discussion on fit and not so much speculation on Butler's availability...more of a WOULD you, not COULD you (though depending on how the Bulls perform this season I could see his name cropping back up in the trade papers.)

 

[LeShaq]

I just want to see him focus on his rebounding and making the right play quickly..

What's funny is that I think when Love is at his best, at least my impression of his best, he's great at making the right play and making it quickly. So quickly that the defense can't react in time.

I'd have to watch tapes of him in Minny but my guess is that this is why he could do well in an up-tempo offense (along with great outlet passes and so on).

Even in his Cavs tenure when he has not been at his best, Love has a real knack for the touch pass or the quick pass to the cutter from the elbow. He actually reminds me a bit of Larry Bird in this respect.

He just needs to chill out and be put in positions to succeed and use his strengths.

I think Lue will help him with that and I think Love will be calmer in the time to come.

I can't wait to see us this upcoming year if we're healthy. I agree with @Heej that the offense could hit a whole new level then.

 

[PIP]

With Butler you gain more ability to switch on the perimeter, but you lose rebounding and I think the offense gets worse.

Butler isn't as good of a shooter as Love and really operates with the basketball in his hands a lot. I'll be very interested to see how it works out in Chicago where you have three guys that are use to having the ball in their hands a lot and none of them are great marksmans from behind the arc.

I'll say no though. I don't think Butler is a clear upgrade over Love on our team. LeBron is going to play a decent amount of power forward during the season regardless of who is on this team. I think love can play center next to either LeBron or Tristan. We will most likely be stashing Love on centers regardless of who is playing next to him on the front court.

Yup... He's literally almost successfully converted himself into an Antawn Jamison built of a tweener...

 

[TitleTown]

There is no way in hell the Bulls trade us Butler for Love. None. I've yet to hear a single trade idea that isn't wishful thinking on multiple levels.

I'd trade Love for Butler in a heartbeat, but it's never going to happen. Ever.

 

[dark2332]

There is no way in hell the Bulls trade us Butler for Love. None. I've yet to hear a single trade idea that isn't wishful thinking on multiple levels.

I'd trade Love for Butler in a heartbeat, but it's never going to happen. Ever.

It was more plausible back when Hoiberg and Butler were butting heads, and there were murmurs that Butler wanted out.

Now that they've patched it up, as well as getting veteran guys like Wade saying it's "Butler's team", I don't expect him to be going anywhere.

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

It was more plausible back when Hoiberg and Butler were butting heads, and there were murmurs that Butler wanted out.

That, and the fact that it likely wouldn't be a straight-up "Love for Butler" swap, but one facilitated by a third team with pick and/or players.

 

[TitleTown]

That, and the fact that it likely wouldn't be a straight-up "Love for Butler" swap, but one facilitated by a third team with pick and/or players.

This is the scenario that was wishful thinking at its best. No team with assets and players will facilitate a trade for Butler, and then get Love as a consolation prize. At this point in their careers, Butler is clearly the better player with a much higher upside.

Furthermore, the top team people keep mentioning as the 3rd team to facilitate this trade is Boston. Why would Boston trade their remaining assets to make us better? When, if they have the assets to facilitate a trade for Butler, they'd be MUCH better off just trading for Butler directly themselves. And now that they have Horford, they are all but guaranteed to not trade for Love.

We aren't getting Butler. We have no assets besides Love, and Love won't get it done.

 

[Kizzle]

Love prob couldn't get Butler but in a 3 team trade anything is possible. You never know what teams view as important assets

 

[dark2332]

This is the scenario that was wishful thinking at its best. No team with assets and players will facilitate a trade for Butler, and then get Love as a consolation prize. At this point in their careers, Butler is clearly the better player with a much higher upside.

Furthermore, the top team people keep mentioning as the 3rd team to facilitate this trade is Boston. Why would Boston trade their remaining assets to make us better? When, if they have the assets to facilitate a trade for Butler, they'd be MUCH better off just trading for Butler directly themselves. And now that they have Horford, they are all but guaranteed to not trade for Love.

We aren't getting Butler. We have no assets besides Love, and Love won't get it done.

The dark horse 3rd team was always the Lakers. They really want Love due to his skill set and how it would fit with Russell Westbrook's. Those two are very close friends, and, of course, the Lakers have hopes of grabbing Russell in the offseason. Trading for Kevin would increase (cement) these odds.

Of course, probably not happening now (or ever), but the entire premise is that if the Lakers want Love, we have to get someone who fits the mold for us in the deal (another big fish). I think the only two candidates are Butler and Cousins.

It sounds like both of those options are scratched off the list for now, so nothing is likely to happen.

We will roll with Love, and I'm perfectly happy with that. It was never a good plan to "deal just to deal him." However, he's thrown in trades as the only real option to upgrade/change our roster significantly. He is currently our most valuable (while still being expendable) trade chip being that he is an all-star player locked-in on a bargain deal.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Yeah, all this talk about trading Love for a guy who isn't available belongs in the trade section at the very least, kept to yourself at the very best.

 

[The Red Viper]

I know we all want us to do some sort of trade to counter KD going to Warriors but as there is a famous saying which imo applies perfectly here. "Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't end up doing!".

For the first time in two years, we have no pressure on us at all. With the monkey off the back, we can play freely without any worries. The team finally seems to be gelling and the bond between the team has never been stronger. There is belief in the team and they love each other. We just won a championship.

The way I see it is very simple. I love Butler a lot and yeah, possibly I would trade Love for Butler but would I trade the Minnesota Timberwolves Love for Butler? I won't. The two biggest weakness for the current Warriors team are giving away offensive rebounds and no solid post-defender? Guess which player used to be a monster at grabbing offensive rebounds and a beast down low? The Kevin Love of Minnesota Timberwolves. In fact, if we hadn't traded for him then and were looking to trade a superstar, he would be amongst the first names in the list.

Things haven't gone as to plan in regards to Love. He hasn't played to his potential with us yet. Its been down to the management not putting him in positions where he excels and also down to him not being able to dominate like he used to. Maybe a proper pre-season would help, as he missed a major chunk last time out. We have no pressure this season and would be playing on house money. And most importantly, Love seems to get along with Ty extremely well and Ty throughout has highlighted how important Love is for us. Since he took over mid-season, we haven't seen all the post-plays and elbow-plays Ty wanted to employ. There is still so much more we can get from Love and we have a full-season ahead. May be, we will never be able to see the Kevin Love of Minnesota Timberwolve but "IF" we manage to do it, the Larry O'Brein trophy is coming back home!

 

[iamacavalier]

Yup... He's literally almost successfully converted himself into an Antawn Jamison built of a tweener...

I hope this was a sarcastic joke...

 

[Kizzle]

I hope this was a sarcastic joke...

Into prime Jamison

Not Cavs Jamison


That wouldn't be a demotion at all if Loves career was at prime Jamioan level here

 

[Randolphkeys]

I see that a few of you just met PIP.

 

[Heej]

I know we're all done with the Bosh discussion but let me throw in my 2 cents as to why statistically KLove matched Bosh's impact even though Bosh is supposedly a better all around defender.

#1: the most important component of defense is rebounding, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The game has been and always will be about buckets...and boards.

#2: the most important component of a functional offense in the modern NBA is spacing. It doesn't matter who's guarding KLove, teams are frightened to leave him from the corner because they know he's a rhythm player that lifts the Cavs spirits on both ends when he's hitting shots. He's an automatic double in the post because teams don't want third options going off on them yet he's so talented he's a threat to get buckets or make a play whenever he's near the rim.

Bosh is a better PnR defender in Miami's scheme but that same scheme caused him to be a weak rebounder when coupled with his innate lack of rebounding talent.

KLove doesn't blitz as often, he'll jump out and hard hedge, Ice, and occasionally switch. The dirty little secret about KLove on switches? He was actually one of the Cavs best defenders in points allowed per possession on switches. Something Lue has acknowledged during the GS series, and something the synergy stats bear out.

KLove just happens to have the sliders up in all the 3 exact places you need (rebounding, spacing, switching) so while he's not the pick and roll destroyer, rim protector, all around shooter, and pick and roll finisher Bosh was he just so happens to match his impact while being good at very select things.

Now here's why he can potentially exceed Bosh's impact this year:

#1: transition. Along with what I stated above he's a far more devastating transition player than Bosh was. Before you call me crazy, hear me out. Bosh never ran the floor in the Heatles flying death machine transition attack, that was Lebron and Wade. Bosh played the trailer role, KLove is one of the few bigs even more devastating playing as the trailer.

#2: Passing. Another aspect that feeds into his transition effectiveness is his ability to make plays after a rebound. He simply has more range than Bosh on outlets and dimes up Lebron and Kyrie on frozen ropes to halfcourt and beyond with the flick of a wrist. This leads right into efficient early offense opportunities where he can use his effectiveness as a trailer if the early offense opportunity breaks down.

It doesn't just stop there though. I suspect this year Lue will finally install those elbow sets he was talking about. LeBron is the best screener on the team, you want him screening and diving to the rim for easy baskets or literally creating a gigantic singularity in front of the rim for the opposing defense due to his effectiveness as a rim runner.

As the league gets more switchy I suspect one of the fashionable counters will be getting the ball to the high post and having cutters slip screens too quickly for switches to defend adequately. We saw the Warriors do this to us in Games 1 and 2. The thing is you need someone in the high post that can get the ball equally quick to shooter or the cutter on botched switches.

I think that Horns rub play with LBJ RJ and Delly that owned second units all last season is gonna be stupid deadly when that's run by Love LBJ and Kyrie respectively at those spots.

All those pre training camp injuries and the evolution this team underwent during the playoffs when they actually had practice time tells me there's a whole new level everyone will reach next season.