Ben Simmons, Kevin Love, Dylan Windler, and more related Cavs news.
With so much Cavs news out there currently, we thought we’d cut out the middle man and just lump every story together. After all, with rumors surrounding Ben Simmons, Kevin Love, free agent news, and a Dylan Windler health update, you want all that in one easy spot.
The Cavs continue to reshape their roster and with more rumors on the horizon, two new names may be joining the roster. The Cavs already acquired Ricky Rubio, Lauri Markkanen, and Evan Mobley to reshape the roster, and adding someone like Simmons and Garrison Mathews may actually put the Cavs over the top.
Though, they’re not the only important pieces that needed to be talked about, with Love and Windler on the docket as well. So let’s hop in.
Ben Simmons is on the Cavs radar
The Cavs are officially in on the Ben Simmons trade hunt. According to Marc Stein of Substack (via RealGM), the Cavs are in on trying to trade for Simmons. The young point-forward has his issues admittedly, but those are reserved to the playoffs, somewhere the Cavs have not been in over 20 years without LeBron James on the roster. If the Cavs actually land Simmons and don’t need to send over Collin Sexton as part of the deal, the team may actually be in a position to play well in 2021-2022.
The trade offer should not be based on the 76ers’ perceived value for Simmons, but on the other packages being offered here. The Cavs don’t need to give Phileldephia everything they want, they just need to give them more than the next guy.
Considering Simmons is capital-D-done in Philly, that shouldn’t be much at all. Maybe a young player or two, a couple of second-rounders, and a protected first-round pick at best.
Kevin Love has supporters still
One player who may or may not be gone by the time the Ben Simmons-trade fiasco gets resolved is Kevin Love. Love is not expected to be part of the team come 2021, and may actually be in the Simmons-trade-package should a deal get done. Most fans won’t mind, as he’s become a pariah in Cleveland for his refusal to take a buyout, but it turns out that there are still some out there that think he’s the cat’s pajamas.
Love’s biggest in-game supporter is former Cavs assistant coach James Posey. Posey believes Love has something left in those lies, telling Sirius XM NBA Radio;
"He knows what it takes to win, and also just now with him being the older statesman on the team, just showing his leadership value,” Posey said on a recent episode of SiriusXM NBA Radio. “You look at teams that could possibly use his talents. He’s a great shooter. He’s spacing the floor. I just think for an opportunity for him to win another championship, I think teams should look into getting Kevin Love. For him, I think he would be a totally different player just by understanding those things as far as what he brings to the team. Just like I said, learning earlier from LeBron James and his leadership, and also showing his growth and maturity. So physically and mentally, if he’s able, and he’s all right with that, he should be a great player for any team."
Despite that, Love isn’t expected to play very much, with Chris Fedor reporting that Love will see very limited minutes.
"Sources say initial conversations have centered on Allen, Mobley and Markkanen falling somewhere between 26-30 minutes per night — even though it likely won’t be an even split. The low end would leave about 18 a game for Love. The higher end would only give him somewhere between 6-12 per night. Would Love be happy with such a small workload? Adding Markkanen means the answers to that question doesn’t matter nearly as much as it once did."
Love, likely getting 12+ minutes a night is not good for his trade value, which is already a negative value. The only real way he gets traded and not to perceived favorite landing spot Los Angeles, or the city he said he wants to play in, being Portland.
That’s the sad fate for Love, he’ll likely, if at all, be dealt as part of a Simmons package, sending him to Philadelphia, where the fanbase will come down harder on him than the Cavs’ base ever could.
But hey, who needs to worry about crazed fans when you get your sweet sweet money.
Free Agents want to play in Cleveland
Despite accusations to the contrary, people do want to play in Cleveland. They’re just not huge names. Two guys who are as interested in Cleveland as Cleveland is as interested in them are Garrison Mathews and Denzel Valentine.
Valentine was a lottery pick by Chicago, who could’ve had Caris LeVert, Pascal Siakm, or Dejounte Murray. Ironically, if the Cavs do trade for Ben Simmons and land’s Valentine, they’ll have two lottery picks from the 2016 draft. Mathews is a do-it-all forward who could be a great compliment for the team with or without Simmons.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com is reporting that both Valentine and Mathews are two-way targets, with both the team and the players having mutual interests.
"Sources say former first-round pick Denzel Valentine is interested in coming to Cleveland. Garrison Mathews remains a possibility."
As both men are moderately skilled scorers and solid defenders, both seem to be fits with the Cavs and what they are looking to do in 2021-2022. Of course, expectations will increase mightly for both the individuals and team should Simmons actually arrive.
Dylan Windler to miss even more time
Dylan Windler would be the easy fix for the Cavs with regards to their depth at the wing position. As of right now Cedi Osman and Isaac Okoro are really the only two players at the position who can slide up and down the lineup as needed. Windler, who, unlike Osman or Okoro, can’t really play a small-ball four. While Okoro isn’t very long or tall, he’s heavy and physical, while Osman would do well enough as a small-ball power forward.
Windler couldn’t do that, but he could flow from the three-spot to the two-spot with ease, unlike Osman. He’s a better ball handler than Okoro and he’s shown to be one of the more athletic guys on the team (before the injuries mounted up that is), and he’s the perfect player to fit the perfect needs of the team.
He just can’t stay healthy, however. Already injured, Cavs‘ beat-writer Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com is reporting that Windler will miss even more time.
"…Sources say it’s not a certainty Windler is ready for the start of camp following April surgery on his left knee."
It’s really Windler’s health and recovery and subsequent fear he’ll get hurt again that has the Cavs scrambling for more help at the perimeter. If it weren’t for this, Windler would be more than enough, and guys like Garrison Mathews and Denzel Valentine wouldn’t even be on the radar this late in the offseason.