Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love (L) and New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony (Photo : Getty Images)
The NBA trade rumors regarding Kevin Love were reignited when the Cleveland Cavaliers won Game Three convincingly without him-after losing the first two with him.
Kevin Love was not allowed to play as he did not clear the NBA's concussion protocol. There is still no definite status about Love for Game 4.
While there was also the homecourt factor (which was pretty strong in the Playoffs-the Cavs have been invincibly spotless at Quicken Loans arena in the postseason. But the forced adjustments really worked in their favor-and the sad part is that many analysts predicted this.
One analyst who suggested that the Cavs could be better without Love was Jalen Rose in his podcast "Jalen and Jacoby" on ESPN, "because they don't need to force feed Love at the start of the game." Rose said that Love is a player "who likes to be coddled," as he was an alpha dog in his Minnesota.
Other pundits point out Love as a defensive liability and it's better for someone else to take his place. The other role players could step up because it's a home game-and that's exactly what happened.
It seemed logical and easy to revisit the Kevin Love trade. "Revisit" because there have been actual talks during the season. One of the curious scenarios is Kevin Love being swapped for to New York Knicks for their superstar and LeBron BFF Carmelo Anthony.
It sounds like a reasonable trade to explore. Love was more productive when he was in Minnesota but he stepped back because of the Cavaliers' lineup. Critics don't see it as a weakness-at least not yet. The Knicks can welcome Love and was a suitor for him (via trade and prospective free agency). Anthony and James will get along because of their long friendship-not to mention JR Smith and Iman Shumpert are former Melo wingmen.
In a recent Bill Simmons podcast with guest Malcolm Gladwell (author of "The Tipping Point" and "Outliers") explored the Love-Melo trade and whether it can actually happen.
Carmelo Anthony has a "no-trade" clause and he has to approve any trade that involves him and that's why Simmons was dismissive. He said Lala (Carmelo's wife) "wears the pants in that family" and she will never live in Cleveland. Lala is also an actress and living in New York is a definite advantage for her.
Gladwell pointed out that Anthony is one player who really dropped out from the "Greatest" list. Gladwell believes Carmelo is no longer driven or even interested in winning a title. If he were, he would have chosen to sign with Chicago two years ago.
Anthony likes the Big Apple life and for better or worse, he is unlikely to leave. If he will get a title in New York, that would be great. If he doesn't, it does not seem to matter enough to him, as Gladwell believes. Thus, the Carmelo Anthony trade for Kevin Love is unlikely to happen because of his no-trade clause.
