5. Kevin Love
This one isn’t going to be received with much excitement, but it’s important to keep an open mind. Sound good?
Alright, here’s the deal (my deal) with Love: He’s in a miserable situation. That may sound weird given that he’s currently an NBA Champion and on a fast track back to his third straight NBA Finals, but personally, as a basketball player, he’s in the worst system possible.
Love is very good. We’ve seen that. There aren’t many players in NBA history who can average 26 points and 12 rebounds, and he did it twice! But when he’s relegated to a glorified spot-up shooter, his talents simply aren’t being used.
In Cleveland, he’s asked to stand in the corner, shoot threes and look pretty. He does a pretty good job of it too, averaging 16 and 10 in each of the last two years. But put him back in a position where he’s the leading man and watch those numbers climb again.
Love needs to be in the high post, he needs to be running the offense and he needs to be a No. 1 option. With the Nuggets, he’d be just that.
Unfortunately, barring a locker room implosion, it’s hard to imagine the Cavaliers making any major moves after winning the Finals last season.
