With Kevin Love's huge contract still live for 2 more years, Cleveland should look for trades to get him out. Getting out his 30+ million dollar contract gives them enough money to do more trades or sign players in free agency. The Cavaliers would get 3 role players with very little potential as well as a 2nd round pick in return. This isn't much of a return for a player who was an all-star and a championship just a few years prior. With Cleveland going into this new era, Kevin Love should not be into the future, and they'll be lucky to get any value out of him as a player. With his huge contract and recent injuries Kevin Love's trade value has fallen off a cliff. Cleveland's offseason plans should be to resign Jarrett Allen on around a 15 million dollar contract, less if possible, and look to further Collin Sexton's contract for a long time. This new era in Cleveland will be a team constructed around Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, as well as Jarrett Allen at the five. There projected starting lineup for next year will be
(PG) Collin Sexton, (SG) Darius Garland, (SF) Doug McDermott, (PF) Larry Nance Jr, (C) Jarrett Allen
Even with there third overall pick, I highly doubt they'll start the rookie off the bat. Signing Doug McDermott on a cheap deal will give them a decent vet who can help down the stretch in games. Looking at their bench, it should look something like
(SG) Isaac Okoro, (SF) Taurean Prince, (SF) Cedi Osman, (PF) Dean Wade
Cleveland in the 2021 Draft has the third pick and really should be looking at 4, maybe 5 potential prospects. They shouldn't waste their time looking into a trade for Cade Cunningham, he is an unmissable prospect for a rebuilding team like the Pistons. They should look into selecting one of Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and maybe even Scottie Barnes. I think would should cut out Mobley for two reasons, most likely going two with the Rockets and is a center who would have to come off the bench on this team behind Jarrett Allen. You could move him to Power Forward, but overall just isn't a great fit for the team. Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Kuminga are both SF/PF's who would be the best for positional value, but Suggs and Green are arguably a tier above both of them skill wise. If I was the Cavaliers GM in this situation I would select Jalen Green, play him bench minutes and some starting minutes at SF as well.
Finally, now going onto the Thunder side of the trade. Kevin Love would give them elite shooting from a big man, decent playmaking, and great rebounding. Even though there are big risks with the Injury issues, they should only play him around 60-65 games to keep him healthy so he looks the best he can. They would be attempting to do what they did with Chris Paul and what they're planning to do with Kemba Walker, help them have a great season to up there trade value and get picks. If they could make the playoffs, which is realistic with this new-look roster, Love and Walker could easily be traded for plenty of future picks. Their starting lineup will look something like this
(PG) Kemba Walker, (SG) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, (SF) Luguentz Dort, (PF) Kevin Love, (C) Most likely a free agent signing or a resigning of Tony Bradley
They could also look for a small ball lineup like this
(PG) Kemba Walker, (SG) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, (SF) Luguentz Dort, (PF) Darius Bazely, (C) Kevin Love
Going into the offseason the Thunder should be looking to resign Tony Bradley, Mike Muscala, Moses Brown and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk on either minimum or slightly above minimum contracts. Some free agents to look for are Mike Scott and Richaun Holmes. Richaun Holmes would give them a underrated big man who has potential to be a top 10 center in the league. Mike Scott would bring veteran leadership and help the young players as well as the rookies coming in. Even with this trade they should be able to sign some simple free agent veterans to round out the roster, but they should look to get as much potential out of this draft with 6 total picks, 3 in the first round.
OKC has the sixth pick, and most likely the best player available will be one of Scottie Barnes or Jonathan Kuminga. Both are promising forwards with elite defense and needs a bit of development on there offense. Either one would most likely come off the bench and maybe even be getting some valuable minutes. With there 16th and 18th pick, I would look for a PG to back up Theo Maledon and Kemba Walker who has star potential, and there are three guys available. Jared Butler, Tre Mann, and Sharife Cooper would all be great as a duo partner with Shai down the road. With this team and front office, the OKC Thunder should have a solid shot at the playoffs and with Kevin Love and Kemba Walker most likely being either the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th option as a scorer, there trade value should go up slightly, letting them trade them for picks the next off season.
Tell me what you guys think of this trade and if I got something wrong.