[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

Cavs get Lauri Markannen
Blazers get Larry Nance Jr.
Bulls get Derrick Jones Jr Protected first from Portland Protected 2nd from Denver (2023)
I like this move for Portland. Nance might not fix all of their defensive issues but he’s clearly a step in the right direction toward creating more defensive versatility and roster flexibility.
Bulls were clearly moving on from Markannen anyway so getting anything of value in return has to be considered a win here. Jones has an expiring contract that could easily be moved in a future deal and a first round pick is always valuable no matter where it falls.
Cleveland now has a young floor spacing big to pair with mobley or allen. You could argue that they could be overpaying for markannen here and this does create somewhat of a logjam of bigs on the roster. However, 7 footers who can shoot and score the ball the way Markannen can don’t exactly come a dime a dozen and the cavs have to hope that mobley and allen will be able to cover for whatever defensive issues he may have. This almost certainly signals the end of the Kevin Love era in Cleveland, and he will become a very intriguing buyout candidate for a contender in the coming weeks.
What are your thoughts on this deal? its a pretty slow basketball news cycle right now so its kind of nice to have some action to talk about.

[RUDEBOY-Participant]

i bet kevin love wishes he was the player they traded to portland….after acquring markennen everyone assumed the cavs would give kevin love a buyout..but his agent said he doesnt want a buyout…love is owed 60 millions over the next 2 years…and to be honest the situation between love and the cavs front office is kinda awkward.

the blazers have been the nba’s worst defensive team the past 2 years..nance & covington both players finished in the top 10 last season in deflections..maybe coach billups will start both to make up for the defensive shortcomings of their undersized backcourt….

[canadabasketballisrisingParticipant]

kevin love 100% wants a buy out- guarantee his agent only said that because love doesn’t; want to leave much money on the table…. if he can lose just 2-3 million aav- no way he’s happy there.

[Author]

Posts