The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back after the ugly loss to the Golden State Warriors to beat the Brooklyn Nets. However, the win does not overshadow the glaring need for improvement on the roster. As of right now the biggest question mark for the Cavaliers is Kevin Love and his involvement in the roster. In his second season for the team, Love has simply not gotten into a groove with LeBron James and company and with trades lingering before the deadline, something will have to change.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, James and his teammates held a meeting prior to leaving for New York and had conversations about what was needed to improve following the blowout to the Warriors. James has been very vocal about trying to get the team together and having everyone look at themselves to improve first. That caused Love to make an awkward comment about what he believed needed to change in Cleveland.
"We have a lot of things to get better at," Love said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "That's going to take a lot of guys looking themselves in the mirror and it all starts with our leader (James) over there and dwindles on down."
This quote immediately sparked a firestorm of rumors around the Cavaliers. Love and James have not always been on the same page. There was the Twitter incident last year where James appeared to call out Love. Both players have stressed the other needs to do more. This recent comment from Love is not helping the idea that something will have to change and it might be him.
Several reports have surfaced that Kevin Love might be the one to get traded sooner rather than later. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said that the forward is the one that needs to go before the Feb. 18 deadline. It is no secret that Love is struggling to find his niche in Cleveland, but trading him would be pointless. According to FOX Sports, trading Love basically symbolizes the Cavaliers giving up on the season. It would be impossible to get a great value for Love at this point. That does not mean something might not happen this upcoming summer, but for now, Love stays put.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, if a player is getting traded from the Cavaliers it will be Timofey Mozgov who has been more unproductive than Love. The center is no longer a starter and struggling to make shots off the bench. With an expiring contract to his name, Mozgov is an easy trade target. Outside of Mozgov, the Cavaliers do not have many trade assets. The center is their best chance at getting a wing player to help against smaller lineups.
For now, the Cavaliers will simply try and figure out what is wrong. That starts with getting Love more involved in the offense while getting other players to step up. James told the media that inexperience is playing a part right now and the team needs to figure out how to fight through adversity.
"We all need to help each other," James said, via ESPN.com. "It's not just Kyrie (Irving). It's not just myself. It's not just Kev (Love). It's everyone. We need to all help each other both mentally and physically out on the floor and when we do that, we have the talent. But talent can only get you so far. It's about the drive and how insane you are about wanting to be great. And I have a little insanity."