2018-19 season stats: 17.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 38.5 percent shooting, 36.1 percent 3-point shooting
The veteran power forward struggled with injuries last season, missing 60 games for a bad Cavs team. Love signed a four-year, $120 million extension in 2018, so there may be health concerns for the soon-to-be 31-year-old. Still, Love can be a terrific complementary player and elevate the right team from really good to great.
Cleveland reportedly wants both young players and picks in any Love trade. That asking price feels too high at the moment. Perhaps a contender sees Love as the missing piece, but the bet here is he remains in a Cavs jersey to start the year before trade talks intensify closer to the deadline.
Chris Paul, Thunder
2018-19 season stats: 15.6 points, 8.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 41.9 percent shooting, 35.8 percent 3-point shooting
After sending Westbrook to Houston, the Thunder were hoping to flip Paul for more assets with Miami emerging as the top destination. Unfortunately for Oklahoma City, the market for Paul is essentially nonexistent because of trade limitations following free agency and Paul’s massive contract. It seems Paul has accepted he will start the 2019-20 campaign with the Thunder.
Paul is no longer in “Point God” territory, but he did average 15.6 points, 8.4 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals after the 2019 All-Star break. He also scored 27 points (11 of 19 from the field), grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out six assists in the Rockets’ Game 6 loss to the Warriors, which eliminated Houston from the 2019 playoffs. Let’s not pretend overpaid means bad.
If Paul shows a little bit more of his old self in OKC (and doesn’t annoy his new teammates), he could become an intriguing in-season trade target. Salary-matching will be tough, but as Kevin Garnett once said, “Anything is possible!”
D’Angelo Russell, Warriors
Pages: 1 2 3
