OT: Does Clevland regret the Wiggins Trade?

[Adolph B. Calipari]

I debated this with my friends long and hard at the beginning of last off season. Cavs should have kept Wiggins IMHO. I know they needed shooting but with Lebron playing point forward and Kyrie and Wiggins out there just seems like to much for most teams.

In hind sight its even easier to see this trade was bad IMHO. With wiggins finishing healthy and flourishing down the strecth. (Especially if Love opts to sign elsewhere) I would just love to hear thoughts on this from my fellow basketball junkies lol.

 

[gossie21]

Trading away Wiggins for a 1 year rental of Kevin Love was insane. I never understood that move.

 

[GOING FOR #9]

Yes

 

[WeaverChainz]

Absolutely. Imagine having wiggins and Irving with LBJ for the next 4-5 years.

 

[musrat59]

I thought it was a pretty dumb move by Cleveland but what do I know.

 

[Pulaski Cat Fan]

It was a dumb move by a historically dumb franchise.

 

[JPScott]

Not only should they have drafted Wiggins, they should have drafted Nerlens Noel the year prior and kept him on the shelf that year like the Sixers did. (rather than taking Anthony Bennett). Would have been much better off by this point in time.

 

[UKgreatinmyveins]

Terrible trade to begin with....

 

[buckkiller]

Noel, Lebron, Wiggins, Kyrie, Yeah that would of been one heck of a squad this year.

 

[ThroughBlue]

Not only should they have drafted Wiggins, they should have drafted Nerlens Noel the year prior and kept him on the shelf that year like the Sixers did. (rather than taking Anthony Bennett). Would have been much better off by this point in time.

Agree. Insert Nerlens behind that defense and they likely win the title

 

[1war]

It's pretty clear that Lebron wanted this and let Dan Gilbert know this is what he wanted BEFORE he returned to Cleveland. Remember the coming home letter? He mentioned playing with TT ,AV, Waiters, and Kyrie, but no mention of Wiggins(whom they had already drafted) or Bennett and then those two where traded for Love, that wasnt a coincidence. Can't blame The Cavs or Dan Gilbert for doing whatever it took to get Lebron back, and they are in great shape so I dont know how much better it could be.

 

[wentzel25]

It's pretty clear that Lebron wanted this and let Dan Gilbert know this is what he wanted BEFORE he returned to Cleveland. Remember the coming home letter? He mentioned playing with TT ,AV, Waiters, and Kyrie, but no mention of Wiggins(whom they had already drafted) or Bennett and then those two where traded for Love, that wasnt a coincidence. Can't blame The Cavs or Dan Gilbert for doing whatever it took to get Lebron back, and they are in great shape so I dont know how much better it could be.

Plus odds are Love will be back and had already proven his worth at the NBA level. A bird in the hand ...

 

[W_Heisenberg]

I thought it was dumb at the time, especially the way teams are winning now. Always thought Love was being over-valued, similar to Chris Bosh. And, Love wasn't going to sign with them after his final season (which was last year)...wait it out and you can get him AND keep Wiggins for a couple years.

I just don't see what he brings to that team, and Wiggins would have made a huge difference playing against GS with his ability to defend all 5 positions considering they went small.

 

[stenchymouse]

As mentioned above, I don't think that Lebron wanted to play with Wiggins...

 

[Dream Team 13]

As mentioned above, I don't think that Lebron wanted to play with Wiggins...

There is a problem when a player is making personnel moves. I know they're all about LBJ but come on...

 

[stenchymouse]

Maybe so, but Jordan, Kobe, Lebron all have/had a lot of say when it comes to the roster on their teams...

 

[KMKAT]

Simply put, LeBron wasn't willing to wait on Wiggins to develop. There's a lot of overlap there if Kyrie and LeBron have the ball in their hands.
Love to me was a no brainer as you were trying to win now. I remember the Nike commercials with Love and Irving and thinking they would be great together.

CLE was fortunate to not be stuck with that Bennett contract too, so the deal wasn't a total loss along with no need for draft picks at the end of the 1st round.

Once the rosters are set next year, we can decide if CLE made a huge mistake.

 

[coolcat9lives]

It remains to be seen if this was a bad move. If they kept Wiggins it may have put them on a 2-3 year learning curve before the could legitimately contend for a title. If Love re-signs (or played the full postseason) they likely win the title. Cleveland hasn't won a title in 60+ year I doubt they are looking at longevity picks.

 

[Blue Decade]

Trading away Wiggins for a 1 year rental of Kevin Love was insane. I never understood that move.

It isn't that hard to understand. Executives have to commit themselves to a plan. Cleveland put everything on the line, loaded up, and went all out for the 2015 NBA Championship, trying to capitalize on LeBron's return. If their players had stayed healthy, it would have worked. But it didn't quite work, so now they have to watch Wiggins play in another uniform for the next 10-15 years.

 

[rabidcatfan]

It was an idiotic move. Everyone knew that they were trading away a gold mine for a 1-year hopeful thinking they might somehow eek out a championship before he jumped ship after the season. Now they are stuck looking at what should have been their NBA ROY being paired with the soon-to-be NBA ROY and developing a dynasty in Minnesota, while the Cavs got an aging big man who gets hurt and is out the rest of the season and is now looking to bail. Good move Cleveland...good move.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Not a bad move to trade Wiggins and Bennett. They just didnt get adequate compensation, as it turns out.

Had Love lived up to expectations, the Cavs probably win a title, and he probably re-signs; effectively creating a dynasty. Turns out, it was a bad fit that noone saw coming.

On the other side, Wiggins plays basically the same position as Lebron; and about 1/20th as well (which means hes still good). Tough to put them both on the floor at once.

As another poster mentioned, drafting Bennett instead of Noel was the real mistake. Noel was a perfect fit.

 

[The Great Wall]

It's pretty clear that Lebron wanted this and let Dan Gilbert know this is what he wanted BEFORE he returned to Cleveland. Remember the coming home letter? He mentioned playing with TT ,AV, Waiters, and Kyrie, but no mention of Wiggins(whom they had already drafted) or Bennett and then those two where traded for Love, that wasnt a coincidence. Can't blame The Cavs or Dan Gilbert for doing whatever it took to get Lebron back, and they are in great shape so I dont know how much better it could be.

Good point

 

[Adolph B. Calipari]

I agree JPscott. Nerlens would have been a better investment than Bennett. At least with nerlens you know you have an energetic guy that can defend, rebound and protect the rim. Bennett doesn't do any one thing at an elite level.

 

[king of cali]

I thought it was dumb at the time, especially the way teams are winning now. Always thought Love was being over-valued, similar to Chris Bosh. And, Love wasn't going to sign with them after his final season (which was last year)...wait it out and you can get him AND keep Wiggins for a couple years.

I just don't see what he brings to that team, and Wiggins would have made a huge difference playing against GS with his ability to defend all 5 positions considering they went small.

If you can't see what Love brings to the team then all you had to do was watch the Finals when Cleveland had not one player on the court who could make a shot in Games 4-6. Watch how Golden State was able to provide more and more help on LeBron because they didn't think anyone else could hurt. Pay attention to how there was no spacing on the floor and the offense turned to total sh*t for the 30 seconds that LeBron went to the bench. If Love is out there on the wing the that help is coming much more slowly, if at all, because he has the ability to make buckets. What Love brought to the team isn't that hard to see.

 

[StubbornPenny]

Bennett doesn't do anything.

Fixed that for ya

 

[W_Heisenberg]

If you can't see what Love brings to the team then all you had to do was watch the Finals when Cleveland had not one player on the court who could make a shot in Games 4-6. Watch how Golden State was able to provide more and more help on LeBron because they didn't think anyone else could hurt. Pay attention to how there was no spacing on the floor and the offense turned to total sh*t for the 30 seconds that LeBron went to the bench. If Love is out there on the wing the that help is coming much more slowly, if at all, because he has the ability to make buckets. What Love brought to the team isn't that hard to see.

Oh, I get it..I watch a lot of NBA.

You are going to pay a guy max money and all he brings to your team is making a few more shots?

Not having Kyrie blew their chances...they survived the Bulls and Hawks just fine w/out Love. Also, their offense turned to sh*t because they had JR Smith just chucking up junk. Thompson was the only one who gave them consistency throughout the series other than Lebron.

There was no way Love was keeping up with the players GS put on the floor, if they played Bogut/Lee a lot then maybe...other than that he'd be a huge liability on defense.

 

[Hoskins91]

LeBron turned 30 this year. You don't have time to wait for a rookie to develop, you're in win now mode. Now if Love leaves, then yes, it turned out badly. If he comes back, then I'm sure they are fine with how things turned out. Wiggins is still a ways away from being a guy you can rely on in that way.

 

[1war]

LeBron turned 30 this year. You don't have time to wait for a rookie to develop, you're in win now mode. Now if Love leaves, then yes, it turned out badly. If he comes back, then I'm sure they are fine with how things turned out. Wiggins is still a ways away from being a guy you can rely on in that way.

Wiggins shows promise,but you're right there's still a long way to go. They were 16-66 last year, they were 40-42 the year before with Love.

 

[truebluewildcat]

Yes...that deal has already bit them in the short term...I can only imagine it will continue to do so in the long run as Wiggins will be in his prime and still 3-4 years from 30 around the time LeBron starts to lose a step...

Cleveland could have avoided what Chicago has gone through post MJ and what the Lakers are going through as kobe nears the exit...

Cavs needed athleticism and scoring from the wing in the finals...

also, i'm not sure about Kyrie...no doubt an elite player...but unfortunately he seems to be on a injury prone track...would be nice to have wiggins ready to pick up the slack should injuries become an issue for kyrie...

 

[UK90]

It's pretty clear that Lebron wanted this and let Dan Gilbert know this is what he wanted BEFORE he returned to Cleveland. Remember the coming home letter? He mentioned playing with TT ,AV, Waiters, and Kyrie, but no mention of Wiggins(whom they had already drafted) or Bennett and then those two where traded for Love, that wasnt a coincidence. Can't blame The Cavs or Dan Gilbert for doing whatever it took to get Lebron back, and they are in great shape so I dont know how much better it could be.

This is correct. It's been pretty widely reported that the trade is something Lebron wanted and had been worked out as part of the deal getting him to choose Cleveland.

So in that respect, Cleveland's management gets a bit of a pass, we all would've made the deal too if it meant landing Lebron.

 

[UKCATSFREAK]

Agree. Insert Nerlens behind that defense and they likely win the title

Lol. Sorry but no way.

 

[Hoskins91]

The best player to come out of the 2013 draft, as of now anyway, is Victor Oladipo. Based on what we've seen so far, he's the guy they should have taken.

 

[WitnessGreatness]

No, not even close

 

[UK90]

The best player to come out of the 2013 draft, as of now anyway, is Victor Oladipo. Based on what we've seen so far, he's the guy they should have taken.

Agreed. And, chemistry wise, Oladipo would've been a perfect backcourt sidekick to Kyrie Irving as a guy who puts defense first and doesn't demand a lot of time with ball in his hands (very much the opposite of that Irving/Dion Waiters all ballhog backcourt they had instead).

But either way, Oladipo or Nerlens would've been immeasurably better than superbust Bennett. Amazing to think Cleveland's roster this season may have absolutely NOTHING coming from those two back to back No. 1 overall picks.

 

[mebeblue2]

it really does not matter, if Love does not workout then the NBA will just award Cleveland with another overall #1 pick

 

[Poetax]

But even if it was a bad trade, the Cavs would have won it all if two starters had not gotten hurt.

 

[Adolph B. Calipari]

The Chicago post MJ comment is the one that resonates most with me. Lebron is the superstar right now and all signs point to Wiggins being one in the future.

I fully understand that Love is a great player in his own right and that Lebron was wanting him on board. The cavs could have contended for the next decade plus, as opposed to the next 5 or so years IMHO.

I also agree with the posters about the injuries. If Clevland only lost Kyrie or Love to injury they likely are the champs.

This discussion wouldn't have been as good if Clevland won the title though! lol

 

[WitnessGreatness]

Love dealt with a bad back all year and was learning a new team and still put up decent numbers. I expect him to have a much better year next year on the Cavs. O, and let's not forget Love and LeBron were spotted hanging out in LA together today so ya, Love ain't leaving.

 

[Drcatfan]

I never understood this either. I even asked several friends and no one could explain. Not just Wiggins, but why would you trade anything of value for a player that is one year away from free agency? Just wait the one year and get him for free!

 

[Hoskins91]

I never understood this either. I even asked several friends and no one could explain. Not just Wiggins, but why would you trade anything of value for a player that is one year away from free agency? Just wait the one year and get him for free!

They couldn't afford him with Wiggins and Bennett. They had to get rid of something, and that was the only thing they were willing to give that had any value.