Dwight Jaynes: Don’t know how many times I need to say this but a Kevin Love trade was not in the cards because HE DOESN’T WANT TO PLAY IN PORTLAND!!!! That is from multiple sources. And at that contract price, dealing for him would be stupid.
More on Kevin Love to Blazers?
With the Blazers (16-23) sliding so far in the standings, it’s hard to envision them making that kind of move at the moment. What’s more, there is serious skepticism from key people close to the Blazers that Love will ever find his way to his home region team in the Northwest.
Kevin Love will be one of the biggest names available. He's been linked to the Portland Trail Blazers (10-16) for years—in part because he played at Lake Oswego High School in Oregon. "Sometimes the obvious happens," a former Western Conference executive said. "Something like [Hassan] Whiteside, Mario Hezonja, [Anfernee] Simons, Gary Trent and a first. You have to give something to get something."
Sunday, of course, is the first day players who were acquired in the offseason are eligible to be traded, even though Neil Olshey, the team’s top executive, said this week there is nothing brewing. That hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from heating up, which has included one report saying Kevin Love would prefer a trade to Portland. That rumor apparently reached the eyes and ears of Whiteside, who during Tuesday’s game against New York was shouting during play to Anthony that “Kevin Love doesn’t rebound like that!” “And Kevin Love doesn’t block shots like that, either,” Whiteside said Thursday when asked about the Tuesday exchange. “The trade talk … it don’t enter my mind a lot. I was more just messing with Melo. I’m not thinking about it. If we are struggling on defense and you want to (trade him), I mean, good luck. Good luck with that.”
Love has been mentioned frequently, but is a question mark. There was a report that Portland is his favored destination, but I have not been able to substantiate that and, in fact, have been told by people close to him that the report is not necessarily true. And the other concern with Love – who is obviously a terrific player with championship pedigree – are his injuries. Over his last three seasons, he has played 60, 59, and 22 games. At an average salary of $30.1 million over the next three seasons, his availability is a concern.
His journey to the Trail Blazers was less complicated. Portland had a clear need for a four-man, and many rival executives believed the organization would target Oklahoma City’s Danilo Gallinari or Cleveland’s Kevin Love in a trade after the loss of Collins. But as the losses piled up, and its franchise star Damian Lillard clearly needed more support, Portland needed to acquire someone immediately. The Trail Blazers made the call to Anthony and his representative, and one question remained within Anthony: Is this real — or a waste of time?
