The NBA Trade rumors start to gain traction again as more teams start to mail in the season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are not one of those teams, but even as they sit atop the Western Conference, they seem to be haunted by endless turmoil.
There are always talks about Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving possibly leaving the team, and lately even LeBron James himself. The basis of these rumors can be as loose as LeBron spending time with close friend Dwyane Wade in Miami or Kevin Love not having enough plays set up for him.
Still, the Love trade talks at the deadline were the closest to reality with the Cleveland Cavaliers. No one really knows how far the conversations went and it seems the Cavs were adamant to hold on to Kevin Love for the rest of the season. Any major moves could be too much of a risk, as Zach Lowe of ESPN stated the Cavs position at the deadline.
"The Cavs are hunting for upgrades, but Love isn't the bait -- yet. They have a rare open roster spot, and could wait for Brooklyn to buy out Joe Johnson."
The keyword there is "yet." This is what keeps the other teams in the hunt-why they continue to consider Love as a goal worth pursuing. The book on Kevin Love trade rumors will only close when the Cavaliers hoist the Championship trophy.
The Orlando Magic is not a stranger to pursuing stars. They are similar to the Boston Celtics, except that the Celtics are entering the playoffs even if they have less lottery-drafted players. While Boston may have the brighter future based on draft pick collection, the Magic have more desirable players.
This is the basis of a fanpost in team site Orlando Pinstriped Post of a possible trade to bring Kevin Love to the Orlando Magic. The trade is centered on Nic Vucevic, perhaps the Magic's best player in terms of consistent statistical production.
Vucevic is a near double-double center but he is just not a star. He doesn't have to be a star with the Cavs. While Cleveland would rather have a rim protector which Vuc isn't, there were times they needed production from the center position and Mozgov did not provide it. Vucevic will, and he might even approximate Love's numbers, minus the floor stretching three point shots.
The Magic must add salary fillers and possibly the Lakers first round pick they acquired (possibly 2018).
This is strictly speculation at this point but the Magic did experiment with small lineups, using Aaron Gordon at the five spot. That does not mean they are getting Love, but it never hurts to explore options.