USA Today
When you think of the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, you don’t think of much. Most people who think of the last key member of the 2016 championship team think of Kevin Love as washed. That is all foolish, as it neglects how much of a star Kevin Love was and how great of a power forward he is. He’s a very good player still, and he has a ton of value, in my opinion. He can do something most Power Forwards cannot do, and that’s space the floor and be versatile. While he can’t ball handle, he can do a lot that the Knicks desperately need. Kevin Love is a much-needed upgrade at the 4 for the New York Knicks, who should look to trade for him.
The biggest issue with Julius Randle in 2019 was he couldn’t space, shoot 3s, or defend. He had struggled a ton with the Knicks defensively and did not help the Knicks due to his inability to do much else other than shoot mid-range jumpers. This is where Kevin Love comes in, as he can shoot very well, and he spaces the floor for their two young players who struggle to shoot like RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson. He would be able to stay on the perimeter and get you a bucket, as evidenced by his 38.8% three-point percentage on 6.3 attempts per game since 2018. This would allow the Knicks to give RJ and Mitchell Robinson much better spacing and give them a chance to do what they do best offensively.
Kevin Love and Julius Randle primarily defend forwards as guards are too fast for them to defend, and centers are too big for them to defend. When looking at their stats against Forwards, Love holds them to 33.6% from 3 while Randle can only keep them to 38.8%, which is really bad. This is a big no-no for a player who can’t shoot as it means they’ll give up threes, but only score twos, which is a point chipped away in every possession and defensive assignment. Love shoots better than teams shoot against him, so he’s going to have more value per possession and defensive assignment. When you factor that RJ and Mitchell aren’t good perimeter defenders, you can give them a little bit of a boost as you lockdown at least the forwards on the 3 point side of the ball.
If the New York Knicks land Kevin Love in a trade, you can go ahead, and for the next 2-3 years, check three positions off of the list. Center, Power Forward, and Shooting Guard are all positions you no longer have to worry about. This means you go out into free agency/draft and go after a point guard with great playmaking, a shooter, and a defensive-minded forward. In the draft, you can land the playmaking Killian Hayes who can shoot the ball pretty well, and in free agency, the Knicks could look to add names to fill their needs in. It’s important for the Knicks to make that move that gives them momentum and some draw, as if they are able to win 38 games next year and make it to the playoffs, it gives them the draw they need to land a star-caliber player.
This post was published on 2020-09-10 11:13
