Cavs have deal for Love in place with contract committment

[gpap]

Maybe the Celts can still get this guy..



This one's for PaulAllen.

[D.o.s.]

Only Lebron can turn two ages stars into two emerging stars....hahaha...Cavs rule the East for the next 5-7 years....

I'm not rushing to crown them. Love and Irving have never been to the playoffs and now they have championship expectations. I think Love can handle it, but Irving hasn't exactly been the perfect picture of maturity during his career.

I don't think Irving and Love's lack of Playoff experience will be too much of an issue. I think the bigger issue will be, like you said, that the Cavs will have issues on defense.

If the other team has more than one capable ball handler on their team, they're going to struggle at least a little bit. Cleveland will be able to throw LeBron on guys -- like we saw when Miami trounced the Bulls -- but how they hide their deficiencies is going to be one of the most interesting things to watch.

[Tr1boy]

- Bass can slow down Love
- Green/Turner can do a decent job to slow down Lebron
- AB/Smart/Rondo/Pressey will cause Irving nightmares. Especially AB and Smart

So yeah , we have the pieces to slow down the cavs. 

[PickNRoll]

Wolves future lineup (as soon as this upcoming season)

C- Pekovic
PF- Dieng
SF - Bennett
SG - Wiggins
PG - Lavine


Barera, Rubio will get traded. Maybe Rubio gets one more chance but if he doesn't improve, will def be gone. In a few years the lineup above could = next OKC

So...
Lavine is Russell Westbrook
Wiggins is Kevin Durant
Dieng is Serge Ibaka

I wish I could wager on outcomes like these.

[D.o.s.]

I think he means "next team to be relocated" when he says that.

[MBunge]

Defense can be improved with better schemes and more effort.  The real question is can LeBron play differently with this team than with Miami.  Irving is even more ball dominant than Wade and doesn't have a great impact without it.  It's also hard for me to imagine Love being content playing the distant third fiddle to Bron and Kyrie.

Mike

[Endless Paradise]

I'm almost absolutely positive the hierarchy will be LeBron -> Love -> Kyrie as far as offensive options.

[Fafnir]

Defense can be improved with better schemes and more effort.  The real question is can LeBron play differently with this team than with Miami.  Irving is even more ball dominant than Wade and doesn't have a great impact without it.  It's also hard for me to imagine Love being content playing the distant third fiddle to Bron and Kyrie.

Mike

Given LeBron's clear athletic/energy decline if he can adjust to this it'll be a boon. Less ball handling and more time on the wing instead of the block will help him a lot.

[Tr1boy]

Wolves future lineup (as soon as this upcoming season)

C- Pekovic
PF- Dieng
SF - Bennett
SG - Wiggins
PG - Lavine


Barera, Rubio will get traded. Maybe Rubio gets one more chance but if he doesn't improve, will def be gone. In a few years the lineup above could = next OKC

So...
Lavine is Russell Westbrook
Wiggins is Kevin Durant
Dieng is Serge Ibaka

I wish I could wager on outcomes like these.

why does there need to be a 1 on 1 comparison

Wolves will have their own identity.

I don't think wolves will go for Young and give Dieng a try at the PF spot. Dieng is better anyways being around close to the FT line, making 15 ft jump shots, passing the ball and crashing the o boards. 

Pekovic + Dieng could be tough to deal with as you got monster size and above the rim length.
Then you got Wiggins + Lavine who could kill you just by utilizing the transition game

Wolves got a steal with this Love trade.

[cltc5]

TP to me for breaking the news first on CB.  I feel special now

[GreenFaith1819]

Even as I get over the probability that Love will end up in CLE, as I look at their prospective roster I'm wondering who will play defense?

I'm not saying CLE will be a bad defensive team, but at least in BOS Love would've had a perimeter defense among the best in the league in Rondo/AB/Smart.

Oh well. I'm rdy to move on.

[Vox_Populi]

Irving is even more ball dominant than Wade and doesn't have a great impact without it.  It's also hard for me to imagine Love being content playing the distant third fiddle to Bron and Kyrie.

Mike

I disagree with this part. Wade and Kyrie have similar usages for the most part and Wade is considerably more useless off the ball than Irving. Wade's lack of range has always created spacing issues for Miami, something San Antonio have exploited twice. Kyrie is an elite shooter. His percentages were down last season, but no defender is likely to sag off him.

I think we'll see much quicker cohesion between Irving and James than we did with Wade.

[staticcc]

At least Danny is timing it right. In 5 years when Lebron, as well as Noah and Gasol, are on the decline, the Celtics will be on the up and up. We will be regularly competing with the Sixers and maybe the Wizards (that's what I'm hoping for at least).

[MBunge]

Defense can be improved with better schemes and more effort.  The real question is can LeBron play differently with this team than with Miami.  Irving is even more ball dominant than Wade and doesn't have a great impact without it.  It's also hard for me to imagine Love being content playing the distant third fiddle to Bron and Kyrie.

Mike

Given LeBron's clear athletic/energy decline if he can adjust to this it'll be a boon. Less ball handling and more time on the wing instead of the block will help him a lot.

Oh, if LeBron can adjust and, more importantly, the coaches can adjust to not relying on LeBron for everything,  Cleveland could be as good or better than Miami.  Imagine what a defensive menace Bron could be if he didn't have to worry about being the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assist man 90% of the time.

Mike

[MBunge]

Irving is even more ball dominant than Wade and doesn't have a great impact without it.  It's also hard for me to imagine Love being content playing the distant third fiddle to Bron and Kyrie.

Mike

I disagree with this part. Wade and Kyrie have similar usages for the most part and Wade is considerably more useless off the ball than Irving. Wade's lack of range has always created spacing issues for Miami, something San Antonio have exploited twice. Kyrie is an elite shooter. His percentages were down last season, but no defender is likely to sag off him.

I think we'll see much quicker cohesion between Irving and James than we did with Wade.

But Wade, at least, could be a very good defender without the ball and could rebound well.  Take the ball out of Kyrie's hands and he literally becomes a decent shooter who gives you average-at-best production in any other aspect of the game.

Mike