Carmelo Anthony has been the center of trade rumors over the last few weeks and the Cleveland Cavaliers are right in the thick of it. Here is why the Cavaliers should consider keeping Kevin Love and why they should consider trading him for Anthony.
Why the Cavaliers should keep Love
1. Love and LeBron are in sync
Of Kevin Love’s 115 3-point field goals, 113 have been assisted (98 percent), the highest percentage in the league among 25 players with 100 makes this season. LeBron James has assisted on 59 of those 115 threes, while the rest of the Cavaliers have assisted on 54.
That’s 51 percent of Love’s threes coming directly off a pass from James. The only higher percentage of a teammate’s threes assisted on this season is James Harden to Ryan Anderson (65 percent), John Wall to Bradley Beal (65 percent) and James Harden to Trevor Ariza (56 percent).
2. The Cavaliers don’t need another isolation player
The Cavaliers already have two of the top 10 players in isolation plays this season (LeBron James and Kyrie Irving). No team in the last 10 seasons has had three rank in the top 10. Adding Anthony would mean adding a consistent leader in that department (he ranks third this season).
3. Love is a better defender
Using Defensive Real Plus-Minus, Anthony is -1.8 points and Love is +1.6. That’s the estimated on-court impact on their team’s defense per 100 possessions.
According to Synergy, Love allows 0.79 points per play on defense, 10th best in the NBA. Anthony ranks 112th out of 169 (0.92).
4. Love is still an elite rebounder
Love is averaging 11.1 rebounds per game and greatly impacts the way his team rebounds the ball. When he’s on the court, the Cavaliers grab 53 percent of available rebounds, the best rate on the team. When he’s on the bench, that number drops to 47 percent, worst among any Cavaliers player when they are off the floor.
Why the Cavaliers should trade Love for Anthony
1. Anthony can create more for his teammates
Anthony is assisting on seven points per game, a modest number, but would rank third on the Cavaliers by a wide margin behind James and Kyrie Irving.
In fact, the Cavaliers and the Wizards are the only teams that don’t have more than two players in the top 150 in points per game created from assists.
2. Anthony isn’t a ball hog
Seventy eight percent of Love’s minutes have come with James on the court. James has averaged 37.6 minutes per game this season, second-most in the NBA behind Kyle Lowry. With Anthony, the Cavaliers might be able to better stagger James’ minutes.
Though the eye test might suggest that Anthony dominates the ball, he’s averaging 59.6 touches per game, only the fourth-most on his own team and fewer than Love this season (62.0). Anthony is averaging 0.39 points per touch, best on the Knicks.
3. Anthony can adjust his game
Love’s primary strength on offense is spacing the floor with his spot-up shooting, as he uses that part of his offensive arsenal more than any other play (24 percent of the time).
But Anthony isn’t shabby either. Only 15 percent of Anthony’s offensive plays come via spot-ups, but he shoots a higher percentage and scores at a higher rate than Love on spot-ups.
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