Kevin Love is still a terrific player. This baffles me.
If this story is actually true (which I have my doubts about), I think the Kevin Love bit is... poorly explained. I don't think finding a taker for Kevin Love was the issue, I think the issue was finding a taker for Kevin Love
at the price required for the dealJust think about it. The Cavs weren't gonna let themselves end up on the short side of the deal. Neither were the Pacers. The Knicks likely weren't asking for much, so not much to lose there. But the team taking Love? The team that wasn't yet decided yet? I can guarantee that that team was gonna be picking up the slack on the deal. Pacers want a ridiculous price for George? Cavs will give up Love and a pick or two, then the team getting Love has to make up the difference.
So, if the issue was finding someone to take Love for free, the deal would have happened. He's a great player who has won a Championship and is making *only* $24 million. Someone would have taken him. But giving up enough to grease all the wheels on this deal? Not gonna happen. (And this is the issue with all multi-team deals. Every team wants to come out on top, but that's pretty much impossible. So the deals fall apart)