Grade the Love Trade

[Marcus]

I gave it an A.

I was pretty high on Wiggins, especially when they drafted him. I also am of the belief that Bennett is going to surprise a lot of people this year, and he came into the summer league in great shape.

But you can't sit around and wait for these guys to develop. The time is now. The window is now. No more tanking. No more losing. If you have a chance to acquire a guy averaging 26/12/4, you do it.

Can Wiggins develop into an All-Star caliber player? Time will tell. Kevin Love already is one. So is Irving. In fact, the Cavs may very well have three All-Star starters this year.

On top of that, Wiggins and Bennett were both alright in the summer league, but both didn't perform nearly as well as they could have or should have. I am of the opinion (and I am certainly not alone on this, you others know who you are) that they were pulled after four games for that very reason. They will get better, but I think Griffin had them pulled so that they couldn't risk hurting their trade value.

They traded potential for arguably the best PF in the league who hasn't even entered his prime years. Irving is 22, Love is 25, LeBron is 29. They have a fantastic blend of youth and veteran experience, as well as several champions on this roster (LeBron, Marion, Jones, Miller, Blatt) who have been there before and know what it takes.

Get a rim protector with the Utah contracts. Get Ray Allen if you want. Either way, the Cavs won this offseason, and it's not even close.

Can't wait until October 30th. Hell, I can't wait until June.

 

[rosebowl89]

A- or B+. I think we should have gotten a bit more for giving up Wiggins and the Heat pick, and our impatience cost us there.

 

[Meticode]

B for me personally. Only because we haven't gotten a firm or official commitment out of Love to extend or resign. But we'll assume he will since Gilbert met with Love personally in July and LeBron and him plan to play together long term.

 

[MirORich]

I gave it an A+ because while I think you can look 3-5 years ahead in the NBA, I just don't believe you can look 5-10 years ahead in terms of all the factors that go in to what happens to a team and how players develop or fail to develop.

So for me the bottomline was this:

-We added a top 10-20 player in the NBA who is known to have great BBIQ and is a perfect complement to LeBron. That he is just turning 26 is a huge benefit as well.

-We kept the most valuable of our future picks in the Memphis pick as well as our own 2018 pick, meaning that we have 4 first round picks in the next four years AFTER securing our Big 3.

-We now have a roster that gives ourselves the best possible chance at winning a Championship this year and for many years to come and have many assetts remaining to continue to supply talent and depth to the team going forward.

In a vacuum, what we gave up appears to be on the high end of this type of trade, but the world does not exist in a vacuum and for that reason I do grade this as an A+ and am 100% comfortable with the move. I also believe the chance of Love not re-signing with us next year is less than 1%. There is simply ZERO reasons for him to leave, both from a financial standpoint and from a competitive standpoint. Even if we fail to win a championship in year one, there would be no other destination that would give him a better platform towards that goal going forward.

I fully expect Andrew Wiggins to grow in to a great player and I still have a lot of belief in Bennett. I also liked Thad Young a lot more than most people and for that reason, Minnesota becomes one of my secondary teams to watch and enjoy in the Western Conference, along with New Orleans and any other teams that can help to push Memphis out of the playoffs this year or next.

 

[godfather]

Not sure how they can give Minny a B-, is that absurd? A for them an A for us. It's one of the very few deals where everyone gets what they want.

I would have said A+ if we at least got Turiaf back, and A++ if we managed Dieng.

But you can't complain at all. Kevin Love, LeBron James, and Kyrie Irving. Teams would trade their entire roster for that combination.

 

[seasoned vet]

i cant lie, i was anti love and anti trading wiggins.. but now i love the trade, despite .. yea.

 

[Adam]

I graded it a B until love signs his extension. Then I'll up it to an A with an incentivised A+ if he brings us a championship

 

[red.]

An A+ for me.

Never was a fan of Wiggins or his game. It didn't bother me he was given up.

I'm so happy we got a star for two young unproven players.

 

[Mr. Orange]

The Timberwolves have already started to bungle. Should have kept the draft pick, given AB 35 a night and tanked. Worst franchise in basketball and they luck into Wiggins. They get a B+ but we know how this movie ends. Wiggins traded to a contender 6 years from now.

Cavs get an A. Grant would have played hardball and gone for the jugular, but Griffin proves he is reasonable to work with and gets things done. Can't fault him.

Find our 5 Griff....

 

[Ohio]

Voted A, but I'd give it an A-

Bottom line is we acquired a top 10 player and gave up no guaranteed talent. Looks great right now..

 

[caf]

A+

Think of all the assets we still have to add complementary players (the 5 spot clearly needs addressed), 73 wins becomes a realistic goal over the next few years... Which is funny, because I haven't seen many people mention that fact.

Sure the Spurs teams are great for playoff runs, but could never realistically hit that 73 win mark for a variety of reasons. The scoring and rebounding and youth this team has should allow them to cut through the regular season like a hot knife through butter. We could make history baby.

The only thing left to see is if Blatt can coach a 7 game series. I don't think that will be an issue either.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

A.
When the deal was first rumored, I was against trading Wiggins.
I am now all for it. Let me explain the flip-flop.

After going through the tank(s), and being lucky enough to get the #1 pick, I was very excited to get a player like Wiggins. I think my mindset was about potential, and not championship. Maybe it's a Cleveland thing. Always thinking that tomorrow will be a better day.
But then I started thinking: If Love was in this draft, who would you take at #1 ?
It took me about 3 seconds to realize Love was the choice.

I don't care as much about the future, if we can be champions now!

 

[godfather]

Unless LB has a career ending injury, he's re-signing. How could you turn down more money, and playing with the best player in the NBA? Please, don't give me Howard. It was obvious the Lakers sucked, Kobe is ready to retire soon.

I know it's a risk, but, the guy probably would have even re-signed with the T-Wolves if they weren't beyond the shittiest basketball franchise ever, and didn't treat him like crap.

They were horrible to him.

 

[CavsHomer]

An A+ for me as well.
Guys, we got the best power forward in the NBA!!!

 

[batdan]

Richard mbah a moute is a decent pickup for the 6ers. The guy mentored Embiid and discovered him at a basketball camp, it can only benefit Embiid having him around. Shved is in his contract year so he may produce something worthwhile. And that borderline lottery pick is icing on their cake.

Underrated deal for the 76ers, they finally traded for something other than 2nd round picks.