As we all know, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves completed a huge trade over the 2014 off-season that changed the destinies of both organisations. It shifted one team straight into contenders, and the other into a rebuilding, albeit promising team.
Let’s recap the trade that happened last summer.
Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers 3-way trade Date: 23/08/2014
Cleveland received: Kevin Love
Minnesota received: Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young
Philadelphia received: Alexey Shved, Luc Mbah a Moute and Cleveland’s 2015 first round draft pick
The trade that went down was mainly for the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers, so that they can conduct their business in terms of trading the players that they needed to. I will be writing which players have had an impact for their new teams and which NBA team has had the better result from the trade that happened.
Note: I will only be evaluating players that are playing for Cleveland or Minnesota
Cleveland Cavaliers
#0 Kevin Love
Let’s recap the trade that happened last summer.
Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers 3-way trade Date: 23/08/2014
Cleveland received: Kevin Love
Minnesota received: Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young
Philadelphia received: Alexey Shved, Luc Mbah a Moute and Cleveland’s 2015 first round draft pick
The trade that went down was mainly for the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers, so that they can conduct their business in terms of trading the players that they needed to. I will be writing which players have had an impact for their new teams and which NBA team has had the better result from the trade that happened.
Note: I will only be evaluating players that are playing for Cleveland or Minnesota
Cleveland Cavaliers
#0 Kevin Love
Kevin Love was acquired in the hopes of helping LeBron James bring a NBA championship to Cleveland. Love began slowly for the Cavaliers, adjusting to a new team, a new city and a new basketball system. He is currently averaging 17.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in 24 games for the Cavaliers. These are all below Love’s career averages. A huge change in the play of Love this year compared to last year is the average amount of shots that Love is taking per game.
We will use last year as a gauge. In the 2013-14 NBA season, Love was averaging 18.5 shots per game last year, Love was the focal point on offense for the Timberwolves and he excelled, averaging 26.1 points, a career high. Currently Kevin Love is averaging 12.8 shots per game, that’s nearly six less per game, resulting in a drop of point averages to 17.6. LeBron James has a huge influence on other players who are there to complement him, just ask Chris Bosh who had a huge dip in overall averages while he played alongside LeBron James.
Kevin Love may be playing statistically worse than what he usually does, but he is bringing positives to the Cavaliers. The pick and roll is beginning to work really well between Love and LeBron, with Kevin Love excelling in the role of a pop out shooter. Love tends to set a solid screen and shift back to the three-point line, either giving Love an open look or giving space to LeBron to drive to the lane.
The video below shows what Kevin Love pick and pops can do to an offense.
We will use last year as a gauge. In the 2013-14 NBA season, Love was averaging 18.5 shots per game last year, Love was the focal point on offense for the Timberwolves and he excelled, averaging 26.1 points, a career high. Currently Kevin Love is averaging 12.8 shots per game, that’s nearly six less per game, resulting in a drop of point averages to 17.6. LeBron James has a huge influence on other players who are there to complement him, just ask Chris Bosh who had a huge dip in overall averages while he played alongside LeBron James.
Kevin Love may be playing statistically worse than what he usually does, but he is bringing positives to the Cavaliers. The pick and roll is beginning to work really well between Love and LeBron, with Kevin Love excelling in the role of a pop out shooter. Love tends to set a solid screen and shift back to the three-point line, either giving Love an open look or giving space to LeBron to drive to the lane.
The video below shows what Kevin Love pick and pops can do to an offense.
This simple but effective play has become an artform for Kevin Love, and he has been using it brilliantly this year with LeBron James. We know that LeBron loves to play with three-point sharpshooters (Ray Allen, Mike Miller and James Jones), but he has never played with a true stretch four. The ability to space the floor from Kevin Love gives Cleveland a new dimension on offense, where players such as LeBron and Kyrie Irving have begun to have more and more open looks and expand their games. Kyrie Irving has seen a boost in scoring and LeBron has been dishing out a lot more assists.
Although Kevin Love has statistically playing worse than last season, Love has still lived up to expectations and has been a great complement to LeBron James, and it has been evident as the Cavaliers currently sit at 14-10 after a slow start to the season.
Minnesota Timberwolves
#22 Andrew Wiggins
The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired Andrew Wiggins as a potential cornerstone for their future. After such a huge amount of hype and expectation over Wiggins, it was hard not to get ahead of ourselves and tip him as a future Hall of Famer. Wiggins is currently averaging 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in 24 games, a promising statistical line for a 19 year old who was thrown into the deep end. Wiggins is shooting 39.6% from the floor, 5.6% below the league average (45.2%) and 36.4% from downtown.
Wiggins has been consistent from deep, and it is a great asset that he has utilised to great effect. Wiggins has lived up to expectations as a young and promising player that has the potential to be great, averaging 12.8 points a game (#1 amongst rookies) is a solid start for a new player into the league.
Andrew Wiggins has been nothing but a ray of light for the Timberwolves. He seems to fit in perfectly in the Minnesota system, and with such a young squad, he will grow and mature with his teammates.
#24 Anthony Bennett
Former #1 draft pick Anthony Bennett had one of the most disappointing NBA seasons for the rookie in recent memory. A change of scenery was what was needed for Bennett, as he was falling down the pecking order at the Cavaliers. The Timberwolves asked for Bennett in hopes they can develop him into a nice solid player that can bring a lot to the table for the Timberwolves. So far this season, Bennett is averaging 6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 23 games. Bennett has improved in all areas, most notably his field goal percentage which has increased from 35.6% (2013-14) to 46.2% (2014-15.) Bennett takes smarter shots now, and is reaping his due harvest here. Bennett definitely looks a lot more comfortable at Minnesota in comparison to how he performed at Cleveland.
Bennett still has a long way to go in terms of development, especially when it comes to developing a jump shot and consistent play. Bennett has a strong body and he needs to use this to his advantage. The huge downfall for Bennett though is that a player his size can play either forward position. We have seen what this confusion has done to players such as Michael Beasley.
The Timberwolves have gotten what they have bargained for, in terms of a young and promising forward that could develop into a nice player.
Have both teams gotten what they needed?
Both Cleveland and Minnesota have fulfilled their needs in terms of Cleveland becoming a threat in the Eastern Conference and Minnesota have began to rebuild and go into a new direction for their future. In terms of which team has won the trade, in my opinion I would call it a draw. b=Both teams have had huge positives and negatives, but neither team have outshone or surprised the NBA. It will be interesting to see in three years’ time, the team will be on top.
DAINA COULTER
Although Kevin Love has statistically playing worse than last season, Love has still lived up to expectations and has been a great complement to LeBron James, and it has been evident as the Cavaliers currently sit at 14-10 after a slow start to the season.
Minnesota Timberwolves
#22 Andrew Wiggins
The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired Andrew Wiggins as a potential cornerstone for their future. After such a huge amount of hype and expectation over Wiggins, it was hard not to get ahead of ourselves and tip him as a future Hall of Famer. Wiggins is currently averaging 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in 24 games, a promising statistical line for a 19 year old who was thrown into the deep end. Wiggins is shooting 39.6% from the floor, 5.6% below the league average (45.2%) and 36.4% from downtown.
Wiggins has been consistent from deep, and it is a great asset that he has utilised to great effect. Wiggins has lived up to expectations as a young and promising player that has the potential to be great, averaging 12.8 points a game (#1 amongst rookies) is a solid start for a new player into the league.
Andrew Wiggins has been nothing but a ray of light for the Timberwolves. He seems to fit in perfectly in the Minnesota system, and with such a young squad, he will grow and mature with his teammates.
#24 Anthony Bennett
Former #1 draft pick Anthony Bennett had one of the most disappointing NBA seasons for the rookie in recent memory. A change of scenery was what was needed for Bennett, as he was falling down the pecking order at the Cavaliers. The Timberwolves asked for Bennett in hopes they can develop him into a nice solid player that can bring a lot to the table for the Timberwolves. So far this season, Bennett is averaging 6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 23 games. Bennett has improved in all areas, most notably his field goal percentage which has increased from 35.6% (2013-14) to 46.2% (2014-15.) Bennett takes smarter shots now, and is reaping his due harvest here. Bennett definitely looks a lot more comfortable at Minnesota in comparison to how he performed at Cleveland.
Bennett still has a long way to go in terms of development, especially when it comes to developing a jump shot and consistent play. Bennett has a strong body and he needs to use this to his advantage. The huge downfall for Bennett though is that a player his size can play either forward position. We have seen what this confusion has done to players such as Michael Beasley.
The Timberwolves have gotten what they have bargained for, in terms of a young and promising forward that could develop into a nice player.
Have both teams gotten what they needed?
Both Cleveland and Minnesota have fulfilled their needs in terms of Cleveland becoming a threat in the Eastern Conference and Minnesota have began to rebuild and go into a new direction for their future. In terms of which team has won the trade, in my opinion I would call it a draw. b=Both teams have had huge positives and negatives, but neither team have outshone or surprised the NBA. It will be interesting to see in three years’ time, the team will be on top.
DAINA COULTER