Barring any unprecedented twist of events, Kevin Love is set to join LeBron James in the Cleveland Cavaliers via sign-and-trade deal this summer in the 2014 NBA Free Agency. On paper, a James-Love duo is undoubtedly the best in the NBA. Love is a legit top 10 player in the league today and James is arguably the best all around player in league history. The big question now is are both stars fit for each other?
A post by ABC News about the NBA Front Office series of ESPN, gives wonderful insight on the topic. From Tom Penn (general manager), George Karl (coach), Amin Elhassan (scouting director) and Kevin Pelton (analytics director), credible experts around the league weigh in on how Love fits next to LeBron. The final verdict? A Perfect fit.
Every aspect of Kevin Love's game, from his ability to stretch the floor with his ability to shoot the ball from deep, to his elite rebounding and superb outlet passing, will benefit LeBron James. In fact, Love might just be the best player to play alongside LeBron James in his entire career. James also complements Love's weaknesses which makes their pairing exceptionally ideal.
Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight also suggests that LeBron will have a much better win total with Kevin Love in Cleveland than with Wade and Bosh in Miami if he opted to resign with the Heat this summer. Silver puts the Love-James Duo in the Cavaliers with Kyrie Irving on track for a record of 63-19 which is significantly better than the 54-28 record of the Heat last season. This gives James an even higher chance at winning a championship as Silver reveals that, "a 54-win team has less than a 5 percent chance of winning an NBA title; a 63-win team has about a 40 percent chance."
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report also beleives that a big man with Love's shooting prowess would make things easier for LeBron as it would open up a lot of drive-and-kick opportunities. James is one of the best in the league when it comes to slashing to the basket and is almost impossible to stop once he has already taken off. With Love spreading the floor, it would be easier for James to drive to the basket and create opportunities for his teammates. Bosh made life easier for LeBron when he was utilized as an outside threat. Love is an upgrade over Bosh because he is younger and is better in terms of rebounding.
The experts have weighed in the different aspects of the Love-James pairing and they found that it is a perfect fit. Whether their findings are true or not, we will soon find out.
What do you think? Is Kevin Love a perfect fit for LeBron James?
Join the Conversation