Cavs extend Kevin Love- 4 years, $120 million

[fairweatherfan]

"Look kids, a treadmill team!"

probably, but this is a franchise that has won only 4 playoff series that didn't involve Lebron James in its entire history which dates back to the 1970-71 season.  Sometimes being a treadmill team for awhile isn't the end of the world, especially when they had no real shot at tanking this season (given all of the contracts they have).

Without some bigger moves, I'm not sure if Love gets them to the point of winning playoff series, even in the East.  He'll probably get them some playoff revenue though, which is a big deal to smaller market teams.

Um, do they even make the playoffs? That’s a fair question. The top 4 in Boston, Toronto, Philly, and Indiana are set. Milwaukee and Washington are probably better than Cleveland, and Miami, Charlotte, and Detroit are all probably right there in the same tier as Cleveland, leaving them anywhere from 7 - 10.

Maybe they adapt and improve in a system not dominated by Lebron and Love’s numbers improve back to pre-Lebron levels, but I could easily see them not making the playoffs, let alone winning a series without home court advantage.

Oh it's definitely possible (though I'll believe in Charlotte + Detroit when I see it); I was talking about over the contract. They probably get back to the playoffs with Love faster than they would blowing it up; it's just hard to see a way they don't smack into their ceiling right about there.

[saltlover]

Wouldn't be surprising to see him traded mid-season like Blake Griffin.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him traded next summer to a team with cap space who misses out in free agency, but I think the trade market will be very soft for someone like Love because teams are generally hoarding cap space.  I guess I could see the Wizards kicking the tires since they have no room next summer anyway.

[Moranis]

Can what is largely the same roster without LBJ suddenly defend at a reasonable NBA level? Will they try?

Because there is no way they can play the way they did on D last year without LBJ and still make the playoffs.

One thing’s for sure: we’re going to find out how good of a coach Lue actually is.

Yeah that's my thoughts on it too. LBJ was still probably a net positive on D due to his size and abilities. But him clearly not giving a single crap meant no one on the team tried on D most nights.

They cannot do that anymore and that's a massive culture shift for the team that's pretty much the same group of players.

They have decent individual defenders on the team, though it largely depends on how good a defender someone like Sexton is.  If Sexton can defend, they can put a team out there with Sexton, Hill, Osman, Love, and then Nance or Thompson which is a pretty solid defensive unit that can rebound and with Love can score. 

[Moranis]

Wouldn't be surprising to see him traded mid-season like Blake Griffin.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him traded next summer to a team with cap space who misses out in free agency, but I think the trade market will be very soft for someone like Love because teams are generally hoarding cap space.  I guess I could see the Wizards kicking the tires since they have no room next summer anyway.

Rockets make a lot of sense, especially if the Anthony experiment doesn't go well. 

[blink]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Cavs actually have a fairly deep team, though lack the top end talent.  They are also a veteran team.  That type of team often grinds out victories and over performs in the regular season.

C - Thompson, Zizic
PF - Love, Nance, Frye
SF - Hood, Osman
SG - Hill, Smith, Korver
PG - Sexton, Clarkson

That team could pretty easily beat out Detroit and Charlotte for the 8th seed. 

True. And I think I’d rather have Cleveland’s roster going forward than either Detroit or Charlotte..funny how people think they’re going to be terrible. This is the season where people will remember how good Kevin Love can be..

I actually don't really doubt how good Kevin Love can be.  I am doubting how good everyone else can be.  I am not saying they are terrible, but to me it seems like they are on the outside looking in for the playoffs.

Yeah a lot of decent old vet depth, but unless they resign Hood (which hasn't happened yet) they are depending on rookie point guard and Hill to be put up major numbers.  We know Thompson isn't a scorer.  How many less easy looks are Korver and Smith going to get this year with no LBJ?

So if Love averages 25-30 ppg where else does the scoring come from?  Because they are going to need to really put up some points to win games.  Their best def player from last year is gone, and that team was bad defensively. 

[Moranis]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Cavs actually have a fairly deep team, though lack the top end talent.  They are also a veteran team.  That type of team often grinds out victories and over performs in the regular season.

C - Thompson, Zizic
PF - Love, Nance, Frye
SF - Hood, Osman
SG - Hill, Smith, Korver
PG - Sexton, Clarkson

That team could pretty easily beat out Detroit and Charlotte for the 8th seed. 

True. And I think I’d rather have Cleveland’s roster going forward than either Detroit or Charlotte..funny how people think they’re going to be terrible. This is the season where people will remember how good Kevin Love can be..

I actually don't really doubt how good Kevin Love can be.  I am doubting how good everyone else can be.  I am not saying they are terrible, but to me it seems like they are on the outside looking in for the playoffs.

Yeah a lot of decent old vet depth, but unless they resign Hood (which hasn't happened yet) they are depending on rookie point guard and Hill to be put up major numbers.  We know Thompson isn't a scorer.  How many less easy looks are Korver and Smith going to get this year with no LBJ?

So if Love averages 25-30 ppg where else does the scoring come from?  Because they are going to need to really put up some points to win games.  Their best def player from last year is gone, and that team was bad defensively.

Hood will be back.  May just be on the qualifying offer, but he will be back.  He was scoring 18 a game in Utah before the trade so he could easily be in that range.  I'd also expect Sexton to get 15 a game if for no other reason he will have the ball in his hand a lot.  So Love at 20, Hood at 17, and Sexton at 15.  Plus you add in guys like Hill, Smith, Nance, Thompson, Clarkson, Korver in the 5-10 range.  Scoring won't really be an issue for the Cavs. 

[tazzmaniac]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Cavs actually have a fairly deep team, though lack the top end talent.  They are also a veteran team.  That type of team often grinds out victories and over performs in the regular season.

C - Thompson, Zizic
PF - Love, Nance, Frye
SF - Hood, Osman
SG - Hill, Smith, Korver
PG - Sexton, Clarkson

That team could pretty easily beat out Detroit and Charlotte for the 8th seed.

Having a rookie as your starting PG is a good way to rack up a lot of losses.  I don't expect them to make the playoffs. 

[saltlover]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Cavs actually have a fairly deep team, though lack the top end talent.  They are also a veteran team.  That type of team often grinds out victories and over performs in the regular season.

C - Thompson, Zizic
PF - Love, Nance, Frye
SF - Hood, Osman
SG - Hill, Smith, Korver
PG - Sexton, Clarkson

That team could pretty easily beat out Detroit and Charlotte for the 8th seed.

Having a rookie as your starting PG is a good way to rack up a lot of losses.  I don't expect them to make the playoffs.

Sorta?  Hill is very much capable of being the primary ball handler/decision maker, so they can ease Sexton into a primary role while still helping him gain experience.  Also, Sexton is really good and was my non-Doncic pick for ROY.

The East is very weak. While the top 3 teams might be in the 2-5 range league wide behind Golden State, arguably the next 8 teams are all out west, and I bet two sub-.500 teams make it into the playoffs from this conference.  The Cavs could easily be one, despite breaking in a rookie PG.

[celticsclay]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Cavs actually have a fairly deep team, though lack the top end talent.  They are also a veteran team.  That type of team often grinds out victories and over performs in the regular season.

C - Thompson, Zizic
PF - Love, Nance, Frye
SF - Hood, Osman
SG - Hill, Smith, Korver
PG - Sexton, Clarkson

That team could pretty easily beat out Detroit and Charlotte for the 8th seed. 

True. And I think I’d rather have Cleveland’s roster going forward than either Detroit or Charlotte..funny how people think they’re going to be terrible. This is the season where people will remember how good Kevin Love can be..

I actually don't really doubt how good Kevin Love can be.  I am doubting how good everyone else can be.  I am not saying they are terrible, but to me it seems like they are on the outside looking in for the playoffs.

Yeah a lot of decent old vet depth, but unless they resign Hood (which hasn't happened yet) they are depending on rookie point guard and Hill to be put up major numbers.  We know Thompson isn't a scorer.  How many less easy looks are Korver and Smith going to get this year with no LBJ?

So if Love averages 25-30 ppg where else does the scoring come from?  Because they are going to need to really put up some points to win games.  Their best def player from last year is gone, and that team was bad defensively.

Hood will be back.  May just be on the qualifying offer, but he will be back.  He was scoring 18 a game in Utah before the trade so he could easily be in that range.  I'd also expect Sexton to get 15 a game if for no other reason he will have the ball in his hand a lot.  So Love at 20, Hood at 17, and Sexton at 15.  Plus you add in guys like Hill, Smith, Nance, Thompson, Clarkson, Korver in the 5-10 range.  Scoring won't really be an issue for the Cavs.

Do you expect these players to look better without Lebron?

[hpantazo]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Cavs actually have a fairly deep team, though lack the top end talent.  They are also a veteran team.  That type of team often grinds out victories and over performs in the regular season.

C - Thompson, Zizic
PF - Love, Nance, Frye
SF - Hood, Osman
SG - Hill, Smith, Korver
PG - Sexton, Clarkson

That team could pretty easily beat out Detroit and Charlotte for the 8th seed. 

True. And I think I’d rather have Cleveland’s roster going forward than either Detroit or Charlotte..funny how people think they’re going to be terrible. This is the season where people will remember how good Kevin Love can be..

I actually don't really doubt how good Kevin Love can be.  I am doubting how good everyone else can be.  I am not saying they are terrible, but to me it seems like they are on the outside looking in for the playoffs.

Yeah a lot of decent old vet depth, but unless they resign Hood (which hasn't happened yet) they are depending on rookie point guard and Hill to be put up major numbers.  We know Thompson isn't a scorer.  How many less easy looks are Korver and Smith going to get this year with no LBJ?

So if Love averages 25-30 ppg where else does the scoring come from?  Because they are going to need to really put up some points to win games.  Their best def player from last year is gone, and that team was bad defensively.

Hood will be back.  May just be on the qualifying offer, but he will be back.  He was scoring 18 a game in Utah before the trade so he could easily be in that range.  I'd also expect Sexton to get 15 a game if for no other reason he will have the ball in his hand a lot.  So Love at 20, Hood at 17, and Sexton at 15.  Plus you add in guys like Hill, Smith, Nance, Thompson, Clarkson, Korver in the 5-10 range.  Scoring won't really be an issue for the Cavs.

Do you expect these players to look better without Lebron?

Love certainly will. Playing with Lebron made him look like an average starter, as he had to sacrifice much of his game to fit the Cavs offensive schemes. I also expect younger guys like Hood, Clarkson, and Nance to look better as they get more opportunity and confidence.

Problem is, Lue is still the coach, so I expect this team to miss the playoffs.

[SHAQATTACK]

not many stars will want to go there.

At least he is somebody for the fans to go see. 

 rest a snooze of a team. 

I surprized KLove did n't want to go to a good team.

oh well ...have fun KLove

[action781]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Cavs actually have a fairly deep team, though lack the top end talent.  They are also a veteran team.  That type of team often grinds out victories and over performs in the regular season.

C - Thompson, Zizic
PF - Love, Nance, Frye
SF - Hood, Osman
SG - Hill, Smith, Korver
PG - Sexton, Clarkson

That team could pretty easily beat out Detroit and Charlotte for the 8th seed.

Having a rookie as your starting PG is a good way to rack up a lot of losses.  I don't expect them to make the playoffs.

Sorta?  Hill is very much capable of being the primary ball handler/decision maker, so they can ease Sexton into a primary role while still helping him gain experience.  Also, Sexton is really good and was my non-Doncic pick for ROY.

The East is very weak. While the top 3 teams might be in the 2-5 range league wide behind Golden State, arguably the next 8 teams are all out west, and I bet two sub-.500 teams make it into the playoffs from this conference.  The Cavs could easily be one, despite breaking in a rookie PG.

tazzmaniac is correct that lottery-drafted rookie point guards are typically terrible in their first season.  They might provide some empty stats, but don't help teams win.  If he's playing 20+mpg at point (which seems to be expected), then I too would expect the losses to pile up.

Here are all the those players through 2013:  Lonzo, Dennis Smith Jr, Fox, Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, DA Russell, Marcus Smart, Elfrid Payton, Trey Burke, Michael Carter Williams.  Not one of them played very good basketball in their rookie season since Damian Lilliard in 2012 (who had played 4 years of college ball).

[saltlover]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Cavs actually have a fairly deep team, though lack the top end talent.  They are also a veteran team.  That type of team often grinds out victories and over performs in the regular season.

C - Thompson, Zizic
PF - Love, Nance, Frye
SF - Hood, Osman
SG - Hill, Smith, Korver
PG - Sexton, Clarkson

That team could pretty easily beat out Detroit and Charlotte for the 8th seed.

Having a rookie as your starting PG is a good way to rack up a lot of losses.  I don't expect them to make the playoffs.

Sorta?  Hill is very much capable of being the primary ball handler/decision maker, so they can ease Sexton into a primary role while still helping him gain experience.  Also, Sexton is really good and was my non-Doncic pick for ROY.

The East is very weak. While the top 3 teams might be in the 2-5 range league wide behind Golden State, arguably the next 8 teams are all out west, and I bet two sub-.500 teams make it into the playoffs from this conference.  The Cavs could easily be one, despite breaking in a rookie PG.

tazzmaniac is correct that lottery-drafted rookie point guards are typically terrible in their first season.  They might provide some empty stats, but don't help teams win.  If he's playing 20+mpg at point (which seems to be expected), then I too would expect the losses to pile up.

Here are all the those players through 2013:  Lonzo, Dennis Smith Jr, Fox, Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, DA Russell, Marcus Smart, Elfrid Payton, Trey Burke, Michael Carter Williams.  Not one of them played very good basketball in their rookie season since Damian Lilliard in 2012 (who had played 4 years of college ball).

And of those, only Smart played next to a veteran PG for a lot of his minutes on the floor, which is what will most likely happen with Sexton.  Smart was fine his rookie year, as he was not given more than he could handle, and the Celtics went on to the playoffs as a sub-.500 club, similar to what I’m suggesting the Cavs could do.

Again, the East is terrible at the bottom and mediocre in the middle.  Atlanta, Chicago, and New York aren’t going to try.  Brooklyn probably isn’t either, finally giving themselves a chance at a lottery pick entering a summer of significant cap room, and Orlando has no clue.  The Cavs floor seems to be 10th in the conference by default, and none of Detroit, Charlotte, or Miami are terribly inspiring.  The Cavs arent going to win because of Sexton, but they can probably scheme not to lose because of him also, giving him a chance to get smaller doses of experience than the bowlsful thrown at the players you mentioned, most of whom did not develop well in the following seasons.

[nickagneta]

Good for Love. Wonder if he will play more than a year there. Could see Cleveland trading him to someone with cap space next year to get his salary off the books.

The Cavs give him his big contract. Then they will make him the #1 option and get his stats more in line with Minny stats, then hopefully when they trade him next year they can pick up a draft pick for him while dumping his salary.

[Tr1boy]

so what does the cavs starting lineup look like now?  I don't see how that team makes the playoffs.

C - Thompson
PF - Love
SF - Hood / if resigned ?
SG - JR Smith?
PG - Hill


btw George Hill - $19 mil / Thompson $17 mil / JR Smith $14.7 mil.  I guess the cap space has to go somewhere, but I didn't realize they were spending that much on those 3.

Lineup is more likely to be

Thompson
Love
Osman
Hill
Sexton

Nance jr.
Korver
Smith
Clarkson

Cavs wont make the playoffs next season or for a loooong time. Maybe via miracle 8th place