The Sacramento Kings are rumored to be targeting Cleveland Cavaliers' Kevin Love and are willing to trade Rudy Gay, Ben McLemore, and Willie Cauley-Stein for the All-Star power forward.
Love, who turned 28 last month, had been struggling to live up to his billing as part of the Cavs' so-called Big Three with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. He was somehow better last season than in 2014-2015 as he managed to stay on the court and be a part of Cleveland's title-winning team in June albeit in a reserve role.
The three-time NBA All-Star was sidelined with an injured shoulder in the Finals the year before when they lost to the Golden State Warriors, but this time he made it, although he was put on the bench by head coach Tyronn Lue for the veteran Richard Jefferson.
Love generally had an excellent postseason last June considering he is now a third-option player from being the main man in Minnesota two seasons ago. He averaged 14.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in the 2016 playoffs on the way to winning the championship, the first for Cleveland in more than five decades and the first for his career as well.
Despite the accomplishments, trade rumors still would not let him off the hook.
"That's just something that you live with," said Love, as per Cleveland.com. "We have so much hype and media and the good and the bad surrounding this team and it just comes with the territory."
"So, I love this team, love the coaching staff, my teammates, the organization. I mean, I don't think it will ever leave but frankly, I don't really give a s---," he added.
Because of Love's perceived ill-fit with the Cavaliers, trade rumors linking him to different teams have persisted throughout the months. One of the latest speculations is the abovementioned trade scenario with the Kings.
Inquisitr reported that Gay, McLemore, and Cauley-Stein had all been part of trade rumors in recent months and so their "inclusion in this scenario is not a surprise".
The rumored scenario fulfills all requirements and rules by the league and so it could definitely take place if the two teams will decide to make it happen.
Cleveland would benefit more from the trade as they not only add two new wing scorers that can also play defense but also get a young big man with a lot of upside.
Meanwhile, Sacramento may have chemistry issues with Love playing alongside DeMarcus Cousins as both have quite similar games.