Cavaliers Trade Rumors: Kevin Love, Kyle Korver Expect To Be Dealt If LeBron James Leaves Cleveland

Even as the Cleveland Cavaliers try to make a fourth straight NBA Finals, there is continued speculation regarding what LeBron James will do this summer. It’s been the cloud that’s hovered over the team for the entire year with the world’s greatest basketball player having the option of becoming a free agent on July 1.

There have been rumors since the end of last season about where James will end up for the 2018-2019 NBA season. The Los Angeles Lakers might be the favorite to lure James away from Cleveland, while the Houston Rockets are also considered a candidate. Maybe he’ll go to Philadelphia to help the young 76ers take the leap and become a great team. Perhaps he’ll head to San Antonio and play for arguably the best coach of all time.

James could choose to stay in Cleveland, where he returned in 2014. No one knows for sure what the four-time MVP will decide, though the direction in which the Cavs would head without their best player might be clear.

Losing James could force Cleveland to completely change the complexion of their team. That means exploring trades for their best players.

“Everyone around him (James) is openly talking about it,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said, regarding James’ upcoming decision, on Wednesday’s “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “Everybody on the team knows, like, Kyle Korver knows if he walks, he’s probably getting traded. Love knows if he walks, he’s getting traded. I don’t know what Tyronn Lue is thinking. There’s a possibility there’d be a coaching change because the Cavs could completely go in a different direction. It’s openly being discussed.”

It seems like Love has been in trade rumors ever since he arrived in Cleveland. There was speculation that the All-Star forward would be traded if the Cavs lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. Simmons even said Love admitted to him he believed he’d be dealt if Cleveland didn’t win the title.

Losing James would likely mean a rebuilding process for Cleveland. Veterans like Love and Korver could be traded to contending teams in exchange for draft picks and younger players.

“The Cavs are actively getting a plan together post-LeBron,” Windhorst said. “That’s what the whole Kyrie (Irving) trade was about. It was a post-LeBron trade.”

In the trade that sent Irving to the Boston Celtics, the Cavs received the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round draft pick. While making several deals before the trade deadline, Cleveland refused to trade that selection, holding onto it in case James bolts this summer.

Of course, James might stay and Cleveland could go in the opposite direction. James doesn’t have much help at the moment, and trading the Nets’ draft pick in a deal for a star could improve the Cavs’ chances of winning next year’s championship.

James’ decision and Cleveland’s future will be greatly impacted by what happens over the next few weeks. A second-round exit or an eighth straight trip to the NBA Finals are both on the table for James.