Why the Cleveland Cavaliers might do this deal
Even after cursing LeBron James’ name when he chose the Miami Heat, Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert will have to stand pat and watch his general manager Koby Altman steer this rebuilding ship in the right direction without any outside interference. You can keep going to the lottery if you want to, but with the anti-tanking rules in place, that’s becoming more and more dangerous by the year.
If you could’ve told the Cavs last year that they’d get all those players that are under contract for two years or more for Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, and a future first round pick, they’d say, “I don’t care what happens. Let’s just sim to the end of the season and pull the trigger on that deal.”
I’m sure they’d like to keep Justise Winslow as a part of their long term plans to pair alongside Colin Sexton but Kelly Olynyk and Dion Waiters can be flipped either this year at the deadline if they wish or anytime in the following offseason for a piece that fits better if that’s what they need, or a star player if that’s what’s available. They could also decide that they like them exactly where they are and sign them to extensions or use Bird rights to re-sign either or both of them to free agent deals.
While they like having Kevin Love he just doesn’t fit in the team’s current timeline going into his age-31 season with four years and $120 million left on his deal. It would be best to move him before he re-injures his hand and lowers his trade value. If you’re a Cavs fan, you root for this deal and press the reset button with Winslow and Sexton and wait for Tristan Thompson’s $18.5 million to come off the books next summer.