1/24/14: Kevin Love Trade Isn’t the Answer
John Lennon said “love is the answer.”
Or maybe it was Mark Twain. Or Abraham Lincoln. Whoever coined the phrase, it has become a popular sentiment among Boston Celtics fans enamored with sweet-shooting, 6-foot-10-inch Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love.
With the recent trade of Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks, Celtics GM Danny Ainge added a protected first-round pick and a second-rounder to a raft of assets that includes as many as 10 first-round selections and 17 overall in the next five NBA drafts. But he needs a name on the marquee to pair with point guard Rajon Rondo.
Ainge faced a similar situation in 2007 with Paul Pierce. After climbing out from under some bad Chris Wallace contracts (and some of his own blunders — like funky Mark Blount), he assembled a young squad around The Truth. On July 31, 2007, he dished a number of those young players and picks to Minnesota for superstar Kevin Garnett. The rest is history.
Kevin Love is one of the most talented offensive players in the NBA. There’s no doubting his commitment to his craft. He came into the league as a pudgy high post player, hired a personal chef and transformed into a mobile big with range, watching his PPG totals go from 11.1 to 26.0 in a span of four seasons. He hauls down 13 rebounds a night, is a threat from anywhere on the court (2.3 threes per game — 11th in the NBA), throws gorgeous outlets and is a deft passer (4.2 assists per game) by any measure.
You’d be crazy not to drool over the prospect of Boston’s spacing with Rajon Rondo at the point, Jared Sullinger banging down low and Love beasting on guys all over the floor. So why not make that move today, with the same Timberwolves franchise, for another game-changing power forward?
Defense. Love’s opponents shoot 60.2% at the rim — dead-last in the league among big men. Advanced stats also allow us to take a closer look at Love’s rebounding totals: only 38.4% of his rebounds have been contested — 37th among players who average six or more boards a night.
Love can’t stop anybody. The gaudy stat line he puts up every night looks nice, but it doesn’t make a winner. Minnesota continues to plod under .500 this season with Love, a top-five distributor in Ricky Rubio, an efficient scoring banger in Nikola Pekovic, and Kevin Martin playing out of his mind. What makes you think Boston would fare any better with Love, Rondo and Sullinger?
Throw in the fact Love has missed 106 (non-lockout) games due to injury the past four seasons and the theory he and former UCLA teammate Russell Westbrook are destined to star for the Lakers in a couple of years, and I’m not buying. Minnesota will be taking huge offers for Love, and while he’s a great offensive player, he’s not the right fit for the Celtics.
The last great Celtics teams were built around defense. The fans appreciate full throttle offense, everyone does, but with cases full of gleaming hardware and 17 banners overhead at TD Garden, Brad Stevens isn’t looking to be the next Don Nelson in Golden State or Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix.
And while there isn’t a track record of big-time free agents landing in Boston, Ainge has positioned himself to build a winner with careful craftsmanship. A mega-deal for Kevin Love? All set.
This post was originally published to Yahoo! Sports on January 27, 2014.
