The Case for Kevin Love

Not a team guy

When the Wolves dealt him he was performing at a really high level - he averaged like 25/12 per game and was a real force to be reckoned with. 

With Cleveland, he's second or third fiddle and that's not good for his game because if he's not scoring I'm not sure he brings a lot of value.  He doesn't play D and he's also had a lot of health problems.  

That's not to say he can't help the Bucks because I think he can but are you going to pay the guy 20MM to be a glorified Mike Miller?   I doubt it.   I would much rather they went after a Joe Johnson who can help them improve their outside shooting at less than half the price. Johnson doesn't play a lot of D either but he has been able to stay in shape and healthy. 

He's a great complementary piece for an established team, but he's too much of a defensive liability to be a max guy. I agree with Tschmack - he's a Mike Miller that can also rebound.

It is harder for him to rebound lately because he is ALWAYS behind the 3 point line.

Again, there are two reasons to make the trade-

1)  to make room for Dwight Howard on the roster

2) he fits 2 needs - shooting and rebounding. 

Its awful tough to evaluate his play right now. When you look at the role he's playing, it's 100% about making sure the offense is the Kyrie/Bronbron show. Love has game- he's being shut out in Cleveland. He is inside and outside, despite how he's being used right now. But there is no third cog on the Cavs- it's two dudes giving themselves the chance to elevate their stars. 

Defensively he's average at best. That's all understood. But the Bucks biggest problem is shooting, and you beat the Cavs with shooting and paint D. You add Love by trade and Howard but Free Agency, now you have versatility in your lineup. Then as your kids get better, the points gets distributed. 

Joe Johnson? He serves no purpose on this roster. With Love, small ball is possible with the possibility of a scary matchup nightmare. Johnson doesn't allow for that that at all. 

Why would they want Howard?  He's a locker room cancer.  As for Love, he's half the player he was in Minnesota. 

They don't need either guy.  Find a veteran/role player that can come off the bench and hit 3s and find another big man that can rebound and defend around the basket. 

Howard to me is foregone conclusion- they would have traded for him if not for his reluctance to sign a long term deal. 

Yeah, Dwight Howard is kind of scary.  A few years ago, he'd be a no brainer, but I think he's shown enough warts in his personality and game that he's be a massive risk, and frankly with the Bucks recent history, that risk is fairly high of Howard's cancerous personality really messing with an up and coming team with some real promising young guys.

If they do get Howard, all you can do is just hope for the best, but I think most of us fully realize how easily it could muck things up.  There is some potential upside with Howard too which is why they'll try it, but as I say, the Bucks recent history tends to make me think we get the negative version of Howard and not the awesome version of him a few years ago.

It certainly could go either way... but there also is the "Kidd" factor as well. Maybe Kidd helps him shed some of the baggage. You talk to him and tell him the clock is ticking, you get on board and we all win. 

There are other circumstances with Howard that have plagued him- both have involved a great G that had to be dominant with the ball. On this very young Bucks team, he may take on a completely different role. He wasn't going to win an argument with Kobe or Harden- but maybe he doesn't have to argue at all on this Bucks team. No one to get in a pissing match with.

I am on the fence. I can see the risk, but the reward is also pretty great too. I just think it's going to happen, so I'm trying to come to terms with it.