Why the Love for Love?
You could learn a lot about the NBA culture or the team you love by following their pursuit and over hype of Kevin Love. Don't get me wrong, Love is a solid pro and a fantasy basketball dream boat but in his current state he is not the answer to your winning needs. But I'm not hearing a lot of that type of chatter on sports talk radio or the various sports media outlets. As we have done time and again, I am hearing too much love for Love.
Set your time machine to the winter of 2011 when the Nuggets traded Carmelo to the Knicks. It was the major discussion point for most of the winter. It dragged on and on until then Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri fleeced the Knicks who over paid and now find themselves in a worse position now than they were in 2011. In fact the acquisition of Anthony derailed the nice season the Knicks were having and altered their positive rebuilding path.
Hop ahead to the summer of 2012 and the Dwight Howard trade to Los Angeles. We all know where the Howardless Lakers are presently. The Bynumless 76ers are in the same place. Personally, I believe Orlando won that trade in a landslide. They got rid of Dwight "Threat of Abandonment" Howard and started rebuilding with a lot of nice pieces. I am not sure if Orlando will ever be a great NBA city but the pulled the wool over some NBA elite in this trade. (Nugget GM Ujiri also picked Andre Iguodala off the 76ers plate as well.)
Look at the trade possibilities suggested by Zach Harper of Truehoop:
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/68391/gift-of-love-29-trades-for-29-teams
If I was a GM I might use Love's 2008 draft class as an example. It was a good draft year but not spectacular. Love was taken fifth and is now a coveted superstar. Why not take a chance on your own pick, develop your own players, give up nothing, and continue to rebuild from within? Be like the farmer in Diggstown who said, "When everyone else was betting everything they had on a sure thing, I went fishing."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr007U4Pekk
PS If you have not seen Diggstown, it's a must watch!
