Houston Rockets: Potential Trade for Kevin Love
The Houston Rockets are one of the biggest offensive threats in the NBA, and they could be upgrading their roster by adding Kevin Love.
In an article by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, he mentions that the Rockets could potentially land Love in a three-team blockbuster trade. The three teams include the Rockets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Charlotte Hornets.
The Rockets aren’t fixing this defense. They probably can’t come close without taking a hatchet to their offense, which, if all clicks, remains their only potential ticket to the top.
This offense must be better. With Kevin Love, it could be ridiculous. He has the three-ball to work as a spacer, the post game to bail them out of stagnant possessions, the outlet passes to ignite the transition game and the IQ to work wonders as a ball-screener for Harden or Westbrook.
If the trade were to happen, the Hornets would receive Ben McLemore, Nene, Isaiah Hartenstein, and a 2021 second-round pick while the Cavaliers would receive Clint Capela and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for Kevin Love, per source.
That might be enough for Houston to part with Clint Capela, who’s an exciting big man but someone who has struggled in certain small-ball matchups in past postseasons. That’s not a great concern for Cleveland, which pounces on the chance to get a 25-year-old cornerstone big man and has roughly three months to decide whether Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the second pick in 2012, is worth keeping around.
The Hornets simply play the money-matching part to grab a couple of low-level assets for a player they pulled from the rotation late last season and haven’t reinserted since. Isaiah Hartenstein is a 21-year-old 7-footer with inside-out potential. The second-round pick gives general manager Daryl Morey another trade chip to play with. Ben McLemore probably isn’t turning the corner at this point, but what’s the harm in adding him?
It’s no surprise that a team with James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Love would be one of the most dominate offensive teams in the league. Adding Love to their roster would increase their chances of winning an NBA title dramatically.
However, the Rockets are still missing a player to control the defensive end of things. Although Love is a threat on the boards, he is not the piece they are needing to help their team. It will be interesting to see how this trade rumor unfolds.
Thanks for reading! Tristan is an NBA Writer for Playmaker HQ who covers all 30 teams. You can follow him on Twitter @TristanRyan720. Stay tuned for future articles.