Recent NBA trade rumors have been swirling that the Cleveland Cavaliers could possibly swap All-Star power forward Kevin Love to the Philadelphia 76ers for their up-and-coming center Nerlens Noel before the new season starts this October.
The 27-year-old three-time All-Star had been the subject of trade rumors since June 2015 when the Cavs first met the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Love and fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving were sidelined by separate injuries when the Warriors defeated LeBron James' ragtag bunch at that time.
There were also criticisms that the former Minnesota Timberwolves franchise player is not "fit" with James' style of play and rumors that LeBron wants him out of Cleveland began surfacing as well.
In the two teams' rematch in June, Cleveland was able to win its first ever NBA title with Love and Irving around. However, speculations that Love will still be eventually traded persisted as the 2011 NBA Most Improved Player was not a big factor in the Cavs' title run.
Love was even benched by head coach Tyronn Lue a couple of times during crucial stretches in the Finals and was replaced by veteran wingman Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup beginning Game 5 as well, which turned the tide in favor of Cleveland as they completed a historic comeback from a 1-3 deficit to capture the championship.
Chat Sports indicated that the Cavs are interested in adding Noel to their title defense this coming season and "may be willing to part ways with Kevin Love to acquire him".
Noel had also been linked to trade speculations all summer as there is an evident surplus of young big men in the Sixers roster at the moment. Reports have been out that either Noel or Jahlil Okafor will be traded before the new season begins.
According to reports, Sixers president and general manager Bryan Colangelo will only give up his big men for "the right deal", though, which means that the team will not settle for a bargain. Love will definitely not count as cheap in exchange for Noel.
Meanwhile, Fansided noted that the Cavs are still looking for a "rim protecting center" as there are no legitimate centers in their roster right now with natural power forwards Tristan Thompson and Chris Andersen set to play the role next season if they cannot find one.