WOJ: Cleveland has agreement to acquire Kevin Love

[DPG21920]

I'll be worried when I see Varejao go a season without a long layoff, you just can't count on him to be healthy for the playoffs. Without Varejao, that team looks very vulnerable to a team with any kind of size. If George wasn't injured I'd fancy the Pacers in a series, but I definitely fancy the Bulls with Noah/Gasol even if Rose isn't back to MVP form.

The Pacers sucked even with PG and Lance. They couldn't beat a Heat team with more mileage, a worse bench and a much worse offense.

[DPG21920]

No defense and still nobody in the paint. Not sure Kyrie will transition to playing more off the ball so smoothly. Some injury prone guys there. If the Derek Rose stories are true then Chicago is still the favorite imo. Big gap after Chicago and Cleveland though.

Their roster with youth/athleticism/rebounding is a great fit for the East. There just isn't anyone in the East with size to punish them enough to keep them from an ECF. The Pacers are worse, WAS in theory should be good, but guys like Nene/Gortat look a lot better than they functionally are. Charlotte has an outside shot but it's tough to bet on them. CHI has size, but will Noah really eat you alive scoring wise down low? Pau is good obviously, but as of now they appear to be the only real threat and likely won't see each other until the ECF.

The key is Love/Kyrie. They should be damn good offensively as a team, but it is still yet to be seen how Love/Kyrie react with lower usage rates. They may go through some slumps like MIA did when they were learning each other and it may be worse because they can't fall back on great defense while they figure it out. There are some concerns, but with regards to winning a le in CLE, they did about as great as you could do (brought in young star in his prime in Love, shipped out a busted Sophmore and talented rookie).

[DPG21920]

The good thing is the Spurs doing it the so called right way can compete and win les in this so called super team league! That part right there is a good thing and the throwback teams still have hope (OKC built theirs as well on their own and can compete IMO). I am glad the Spurs are around!

I agree on the last two years as well, Wade did help him in last years finals though bigtime although he didn't show up at all this year. Wade is just pretty much done as a star in the league, got old and yes Lebron carried them through a weak East.

Spurs have a super team with a big 3 too. They did it before Lebron.

[Sean Cagney]

Spurs have a super team with a big 3 too. They did it before Lebron.

I meant run to team up together. I understand Boston had those guys traded to them in 08 but the guys running to a team and then old vets running there as well to team up chasing a ring. This NBA is kind of weak IMO from that. You have no parity, the West has about an even field but the East is one team year after year it seems with decent to bad teams after that. I would love to see Compe ion.

[DPG21920]

I meant run to team up together. I understand Boston had those guys traded to them in 08 but the guys running to a team and then old vets running there as well to team up chasing a ring. This NBA is kind of weak IMO from that. You have no parity, the West has about an even field but the East is one team year after year it seems with decent to bad teams after that. I would love to see Compe ion.

But every team does that. Spurs had old vets chasing rings come to them (Horry, Finley, ect..). It's not just isolated to Lebron. Lebron taking less money to play with better teammates (and his cast was very good, but no better than Tim/Manu/TP) is hated, while the Spurs are lauded for that.

I get not liking things overall, but not respecting Lebron singled out for something everyone does is baffling to me. There are plenty of reasons to not like Lebron IMO, but that should not be one.

[-21-]

But neither Irving nor Love play defense...and who's in the middle? Varejao can't stay healthy enough to stay on the floor...and Haywood is already 34...and Waiters and Irving don't get along, especially with Waiters being a total headcase...that team is going to be really interesting to watch, but perhaps not in a good way.

I know. It's another one of their flaws... Defense.

[TheyCallMePro]

No defense and still nobody in the paint. Not sure Kyrie will transition to playing more off the ball so smoothly. Some injury prone guys there. If the Derek Rose stories are true then Chicago is still the favorite imo. Big gap after Chicago and Cleveland though.

See I just don't get the Derrick Rose hype. In 2011 the Bulls got CRUSHED by the Heat in the ECF 4-1 (the Heat won 4 straight) and that Heat team had no bench and started Mike Bibby at PG. That was Rose's MVP year and the Bulls had the best record in the NBA. Didn't matter. The Heat DESTROYED them with both Derrick Rose and the Bulls at their absolute peak. And now 4 years later people wanna talk about the Bulls being the team to beat in the East...when since then they've lost in the playoffs to the #8 seed 76ers (4-2), the #1 seed Heat, (4-1) and the #5 seed Wizards (4-1). And they're basically the same team they were 4 years ago but without a bench and with a washed up and old Pau Gasol.

[RD2191]

I'm going to wait until it it confirmed by TSpence before I give any credence to this Woj guy...

[RD2191]

Not every franchise has the brains like Pop and RC to build through the draft so of course the other route is building these 'superteams". LeBron was a one-man team his last two seasons in Miami so i dont get why some people still think he had a lot of help.

Last 2 seasons D Wade and Bosh is arguably more help than Tim Duncan ever had, tbh, imo.

[cd021]

whos gonna play defense besides lebron?

You mean Irving, Waiters and Love don't play defense?

[Arcadian]

I think this is a BIG mistake.

Wiggins, IMO, is better than Love right now. Everyone talks about his "potential", but what I see is a freakish athlete whose overall game is vastly underrated. He's a good shooter, an elite defender, and an overall behemoth on the court. Love is no behemoth. Nobody respects him on D.

Look, somebody had to score all those points and get all those rebounds on a BAD Minnesota team. Stats are overrated. How many points did Monta Ellis average with Golden State and Milwaukee? How many points/assists did/do Chris Paul and Steve Nash average year in and year out in comparison to Tony Parker? I think people look at Love's career average way too much and not Kevin Love the basketball player enough. Wiggins would smoke him 1 on 1.

Bad choice, Lebron. Can't believe you passed up on the opportunity to play alongside the next you. The next behemoth in the NBA. What a shame. 5 years from now we'll all look back, everyone will see what a terrible mistake this was for the Cavs.

You might be right. I'm not as confident as you are, but if Wiggins turns out to be a superstar, and Love has declined significantly in a few years, this trade would go down in infamy.

[cd021]

PG-Irving
SG-Waiters
SF-James
PF-Love
C-Varejao

Bench

PG-Dellavedola/JLIII
SG-Allen (possibly)
SF-Miller
PF-Marion (possibly)
C-Hayward/ Okafor (possibly)

not a bad unit. Probably not going to be very good defensively though. Probably league average at best.

Would have made more sense to add Kevin Martin to the deal. If Allen doesn't come back for another season. Then that bench would be ,mediocre, at best.

[Chillen]

Anderson Verajao/Tristan Thompson
Kevin Love/Shawn Marion
Lebron James/Mike Miller
Dion Waiters/Ray Allen?/James Jones
Kyrie Irving/Matt Dellavadova

If they get Ray Allen, that looks like a pretty good team to me. Bench is a little thin but that starting 5 looks pretty nasty. They should be favorites out East and if they get to the finals, will be a tough team to beat. Their offensive firepower is off the charts.

The missing piece on that roster, Wiggins.

The Bulls have enough to possibly beat the Cavs in the ECF, but as of right now either the Bulls or Cavs will be in the NBA finals in June for the East. I don't see any other East opponent beating either Bulls or Cavs in a 7 game series, except the Wiz could play spoiler again. So if health prevails for both teams, they will be going at it in the ECF. Now the NBA finals are a different story, not sold that either can beat the Thunder or Spurs, but it's not impossible. It would be a huge upset if either the Cavs or Bulls are bounced out of the playoffs before the ECF, unless they both go at it in the 2nd round.

[cjw]

Stephen A. Smith proclaims that Minny got screwed and should have taken Klay Thompson.

I think Minny made out great. Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a 1st round pick (albeit toward the end of the round).

That's much better than Klay Thompson.

Salary scales for #1 picks get pricey, but would much rather pay those two combined $11.5, $13.3 and $17.1 (Bennett's that year is a qualifying offer) for the three seasons AFTER this one and pray for them to reach their potential than to give Thompson a max extension that pays him more than both of those guys combined. Don't get me wrong, Thompson is a very good player (hides Curry's awful D) and deserves to get paid, but two is better than one, particularly with them under control at well below market rates for a longer period of time. So much for the rumor of Bennett going to Philly in the deal with Thad Young to the Wolves. I'd rather keep the two young kids and see how they develop.

Perhaps pairing Thompson with Rubio would have made basketball sense given Rubio can't shoot to save his life and Thompson would help spread the floor.

[Mr. Body]

OKC and SAS have waaaaaay too much offense for the current Cavs team. Cleveland would need to slow their Finals opponent down and I don't see it there. Spurs made mincemeat out of a Heat defense that was hitherto very good and they had better defensive players. I don't know if the Cavs can out score us. Plus on experience, I don't like Kyrie or Waiters against Parker and Ginobili.

[Oh, Gee!!]

I think Cleveland could take OKC.

[DAF86]

Love is one of the best players to put next to Lebron but I would have liked to see the James/Wiggins duo on the wings.

[FireMicoHalili]

Either Love can't carry a team on his back or the West's top eight is tough to crack. Just happy he can finally play in the playoffs, no matter how Pyrrhic an eastern conference playoff slot seems like. Can say assembling a team feels like pussying out, but it can also look like deft planning and manoeuvring. Not everyone can replicate the Spurs' blueprint for success and it's tough to expect that from the rest of the league.

[FireMicoHalili]

Wolves looking to unload JJ Barea, Alexey Shved, and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute btw

[spurs10]

I went to that Wolves game last year where he made a few hundred 3's. Couldn't miss. We still won though.

[guilhermercf]

This Cavs team will get way better than the last seasons' Heat. Waaaaay better.

[TD 21]

For all the obvious reasons, this puts them in contention, but with all the question marks, I'd be surprised if they won the championship next season. I keep hearing about how the Spurs' odds should be lower because they play in the West, as if there's a litany of teams that could beat them, when in reality there's the exact same number that could beat them (one, maybe two) that could beat the Cavaliers in the East.

I'd go . . .

1. Spurs/Thunder
2. Thunder/Spurs
3. Bulls
4. Cavaliers
5. Clippers

As far as their rotation, it sounds like Moore may be brought in to be the backup PG, or at least compete with Dellavedova for it. Whoever they bring in at C, I suspect Thompson ends up as the primary backup, with Marion backing up both forward positions. If Allen eventually signs, then Marion would become strictly the backup PF and Miller the backup SF.

[barbacoataco]

Not that easy to assemble a championship team. It helps that the East is so ridiculously weak. But still it just isn't that easy. You never know how players will gel. Also when Lebron went to Miami in 2010 Wade was already a Finals MVP. Kevin Love has never played in the playoffs. I guess we'll see.

[Sean Cagney]

But every team does that. Spurs had old vets chasing rings come to them (Horry, Finley, ect..). It's not just isolated to Lebron. Lebron taking less money to play with better teammates (and his cast was very good, but no better than Tim/Manu/TP) is hated, while the Spurs are lauded for that.

I get not liking things overall, but not respecting Lebron singled out for something everyone does is baffling to me. There are plenty of reasons to not like Lebron IMO, but that should not be one.

No, you will see players just flock there now, Horry came yes and most thought he was done then and Finley was basically by himself coming here, not a 3 or 4 old vets running to the team one player has (Miami and now Cleveland). Spurs get a vet here or there like Barry, Finley and Horry but never in the same year when a big name comes to their team, thats different than coming to a vet club and by yourself and not with 2 or 3 other guys. I don't see the resemblence between the Spurs and Heat or Cleveland here, they seem to just flock there where he goes and watch this offseason more and more will come.

I have nothing against Lebron BTW, it's just the older guys who all fly to the team he is on when he gets there to try and get one ring or one last ring that makes me kind of chuckle, watch Ray Allen end up there now to follow him again. I would not doubt a few others joint Mike Miller and Jones etc. running there now, seems to be the theme where he goes.

This Cavs team will get way better than the last seasons' Heat. Waaaaay better.

We will just have to wait and see that, nothing is a given and they need to gel like someone above said.

[Mr Bones]

Wolves looking to unload JJ Barea, Alexey Shved, and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute btw

Mbah a Moute would be perfect for the Cavs.... a very good defender who doesn't need the ball on the offensive end.