Kevin Love (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
Kevin Love is still on the NBA trade rumor mill for a possible homecoming down the line.
When we say "homecoming" for Kevin Love, the misconception is that it's LA. Love came on the basketball radar as a player for the UCLA Bruins where he was teammates with Russell Westbrook.
Love is also known for dating actress Cody Horn and more recently, Sports Illustrated model Kate Bock, whom Love brought to the Cleveland Cavaliers championship parade. It seemed like he'll fit right in Hollywood.
But Love's real hometown is in Oregon, even though he was born in California. He was recruited from a high school in Lake Oswego, Oregon (Lake Oswego Lakers, if you want to go there). While that may not be reason enough to transfer teams (it was for LeBron, though), the Portland Trail Blazers actually make a better case for him than any of the LA teams.
But it's not Love's decision because he is under contract. The rationale for trading Kevin Love has been exhausted (reference this SB Nation piece from Tom Ziller) but it's likely that the Cavs do not really have an urgent mandate to trade or make upgrades to their team (they are the champions). Their undisputed star player has not even signed his contract yet.
For the Portland Trail Blazers, this is actually welcome news. The Blazers were the big spenders in free agency primarily to keep their own free agents like Allen Crabbe and Mo Harkless. They have a deep team but expensive team. However, they could be reasonable deals on the market and could eventually be used as trade chips as Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders mentioned.
"You're down the right lines here - it stands to reason that Portland GM Neil Olshey, with a ton of guys inked to deals that are mostly fair on the market but might amount to too large an overall price tag down the line, could look to move at least one of those pieces while his guys still have their value," Dowsett said.
The Cavs are taking their time and they can pick from the Portland roster. The Blazers can offer one of the young swingmen and a center-one of the Cavs needs. Allen Crabbe has potential and the Portland has Meyers Leonard, Mason Plumlee and even Ed Davis as centers.
This may not be enough for Love at this time. But the Blazers is a team with a lot of upside and the Cavs might take interest. GM Neil Olshey won't hesitate to add draft picks to acquire a star like Love as well.
