Trade targets to avoid that could derail progress No. 2: Kevin Love
The resume that a player like the veteran Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love brings to the table is something that would clearly appeal to a good portion of the Bulls fan base. But it’s not all well and good for any team that would be looking into a trade deal with the Cavaliers to land Love this year.
Love looks to be at a point in his career that his production and efficiency are very much on the downturn. Landing a player that is a former superstar with an oversized contract like Love, that is also pretty injury-prone, is a bad idea for obvious reasons for Karnisovas and the Bulls.
The current contract that Love boasts was signed back during the 2019 offseason. It was originally part of a contract extension that was worth an additional $120 million over the course of four years. And this deal was mostly frontloaded for Love.
Nonetheless, Love is still owed around $30 million annually on average through the end of the 2022-23 season.
Just like the Bulls should try and avoid a deadline deal for a player that carries a contract like Barnes’, Love would not be a smart trade target for the new front office. Love could then be the highest-paid player on the cap sheet for two seasons following the current one.
The Cavaliers will look to flip a number of their bigs for draft capital. Andre Drummond & Kevin Love could both be moved, per source. I'm told Jarrett Allen is off the table.
— Jason Dumas (@JDumasReports) January 25, 2021
Varying reports show that the Cavaliers could wind up parting ways with both center Andre Drummond and Love this year. But the only one of those two that the Bulls should have any level of interest in is the former Detroit Pistons big man Drummond.