Kevin Love makes absolutely no sense for the Brooklyn Nets via trade
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The Brooklyn Nets are looking to add some depth in their frontcourt and one name recently floated is Cleveland Cavaliers big man Kevin Love.
Love, who is a five-time All-Star, won an NBA title alongside Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving in 2016. He was also teammates with Nets stars James Harden and Kevin Durant on Team USA when they won an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
He might make sense if you are building a roster for your fantasy basketball team. But in real life, it is hard to imagine any scenario where Love ends up on the Nets through trade. Maybe if the Cavs buy him out and he becomes a free agent, but a swap is incredibly unlikely.
Within the constraints of the collective bargaining agreement, the Nets need to match Love’s salary ($31.2 million) to acquire him from Cleveland. They also cannot trade Joe Harris until March 3, 2021 based on the contract that he signed this offseason. They’re also not going to trade any one of their core pieces in Durant, Irving or Harden.
I’ll just say the Nets probably are interested in Kevin Love. But financially it’s very hard to make it work. They can absorb McGee with their new extension instead if they really wanted to. — Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) January 25, 2021
That means that in order to bring Love to Brooklyn, they would need to send a package that included DeAndre Jordan (who is incredibly close with Irving and Durant, plays the position that Brooklyn desperately needs right now), Spencer Dinwiddie (who is out for the season, which may hurt his value), Landry Shamet as well as either Bruce Brown or Nic Claxton.
That would give them 10 players, after the recent addition of Norvel Pelle, on their roster. They would then have two weeks to sign four more players, and while there are some free agents who could fit in their rotation, such a transaction would make a roster that lacks depth and familiarity with one another even thinner.
Even if they decided that such a drastic reshuffling of the deck would be worth it, this a team in win-now mode. Love is currently dealing with a calf strain and has played just two games so far this season.
Steve Nash laments Nets’ subpar defense: “We’re not a defensive roster.” https://t.co/oTxaRM3733 — USA TODAY NBA (@usatodaynba) January 23, 2021
Ultimately, Brooklyn needs a defensive specialist who can help with their rim protection. That is where the Nets have struggled the most since acquiring Harden in their recent blockbuster deal, which caused head coach Steve Nash to say that they don’t have a “defensive roster” right now.
Love, who has recorded at least 0.6 blocks per game just one time in his NBA career and that was his rookie year in 2008-09, is simply not that guy.
Due to the injury that Dinwiddie suffered earlier this season, Brooklyn will receive a disabled player exception worth $5.7 million. The Nets could use that as part of a package to land veteran big men like JaVale McGee, Ed Davis, Nerlens Noel or Bismack Biyombo.
Don’t be surprised if one of the names mentioned above ends up on the Nets as they continue to build out their championship-contending roster. But don’t take the thought of Love in Brooklyn too seriously, either, as such a trade is nearly impossible to configure.
NBA Rumors: Brooklyn Nets Reportedly In Trade Talks For JaVale McGee
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The Brooklyn Nets are having plenty of trouble on the defensive end of the ball. The New Yorkers have tried to improve their performances on D but after they parted ways with Jarrett Allen in the blockbuster James Harden trade, the Nets have struggled to stop rivals, losing two of their last three games in the NBA.
Even though they beat the Miami Heat on Saturday night behind Kyrie Irving’s 18 points in the 4th quarter, they still allowed the Heat to score 124 points. Only the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are allowing more points than the Nets in the league, so this is a problem they need to address and fix if they want to compete in the Eastern Conference.
That has led the Nets to engage in trade talks with one of the teams involved in the James Harden trade, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to try to land big man JaVale McGee, according to Sam Amico of FortyEightMinutes.
Nets and Cavs meeting for second time tonight, and sources tell @FortyEightMins to expect Nets to make a run at acquiring Cavs backup center JaVale McGee soon. Brooklyn has 2 available roster spots and looking for another veteran presence in the middle. — Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) January 23, 2021
The Nets need to improve their defense or they will have a very hard time trying to compete in the postseason. After they formed the Big 3, everybody put them as one of the favorite teams to win the championship this season but their lack of defense is a major issue for them. McGee could help them fix that with his presence at the paint. DeAndre Jordan doesn’t seem to be comfortable right now and the 2x NBA champion could be the response to the Nets’ struggles.
They were given a $5.7 million trade exception after Spencer Dinwiddie went down with a season-ending injury and they’re already trying to land a player that can bring a lot of value to the roster. McGee was linked with the Lakers in recent times but the Nets could be getting the player from the Cavs, who have a lot of big men on the roster.
This Nets-Nuggets blockbuster trade features Kyrie Irving to Denver
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Kyrie Irving is back on the floor for the Brooklyn Nets alongside James Harden and Kevin Durant. Let’s not forget, Irving missed time this season and did not keep the Nets in the loop. One team who should keep tabs on the NBA superstar’s future trade availability is the Denver Nuggets.
The Nets are off to an underwhelming start giving their roster. They sit currently at 9-8 in the Western Conference. Despite a slow start, the Nets are still one of the top teams in the league with talent all over the floor. They solidified their spot as a championship contender when they acquired James Harden. The duo of Harden and Kevin Durrant could be another reason the front office is persuaded to trade Irving.
If Irving does something to find himself on the trade block, there will be plenty of teams interested in the services. The Nuggets are a team to come to mind. They made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago but were taken out by the Los Angeles Lakers.
They saw that they did not have enough firepower and that could cause them to make a big move. Both Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are off to hot starts once again this season.
Irving going to Denver but certainly shake up both conferences right away. Let’s take a look and see what a potential deal can look like to get this done.