The Cleveland Cavaliers have no current plans to trade forward Kevin Love.
Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said this week that there are no discussions with any NBA teams about a deal for Love.
“You’d have to go a long way to convince me that we’re a better team winning in the Finals without a player like Kevin on our team,” Griffin said on ESPN 850 AM in Cleveland. “We’ve never once put together an offer involving Kevin, nor have we taken a call on an offer for Kevin.”
Love joined the Cavaliers before the 2014-15 season, signing a five-year, $112 million contract. As of Jan. 15, he was eligible for a trade, fueling speculation that the Cavs might have something brewing.
Since point guard Kyrie Irving returned in December from his injury absence, Love is averaging 15.6 points per game and shooting 42 percent from the field.
Last week, Griffin fired coach David Blatt and replaced him with Tyronn Lue. How thta impacts Love’s production remains to be seen.
“We think very highly of Kevin, and we believe Kevin thinks very highly of this situation,” Griffin said. “But I can also tell you that we have been very clear from the beginning that there’s no such thing as untouchables.
“You’re either all the way in or all the way out in this process, and we believe our guys are all the way in. If it remains that way, then we are going to try and augment the group at the bottom and try to get some additional depth, and that’s what we’ll do. We’re not going to be afraid to do what needs to be done if something more significant comes along.”
In Lue’s second game as coach, Love had 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in the Cavaliers’ 114-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. The three-time All-Star scored 14 points in a home loss to the Chicago Bulls in Saturday night in Lue’s debut.
“I’m trying to work it out where I can get Kevin in the game without Kyrie and LeBron with that second unit,” Lue said.