4 trades to make the Portland Trail Blazers instant title contenders

Another year, another proposed Kevin Love trade. Portland media will seemingly never stop trying to bring the Lake Oswego native back to Oregon. However, recent events have possibly reignited the possibility of a homecoming for Love. With the Portland Trail Blazers on the brink of success, there has never felt a more appropriate time to pull the trigger on this deal.

Likewise, the Cavaliers will struggle to find a team more willing to make a move on Love considering his injury history and hefty price tag. With the expected departure of Al-Farouq Aminu, the Blazers will need to find another high-caliber replacement at power forward. Adding Love to the starting lineup would make for an exciting three-pronged attack on offense that would be incredibly hard for opposing defenses to game plan against.

The Blazers give up relatively little here to assume the burden of Love’s contract and injury problems. By retaining Meyers Leonard, the Blazers benefit by keeping the ability to stagger Love’s minutes and let him rest when necessary.

An added benefit to this move is the financial flexibility it provides. By sending out a combined $31.5 million in payroll (and only taking back $28.9 million in Love’s salary), Portland opens up just a little bit more breathing room to maneuver in free agency. This move would allow the Blazers to have an approximate $8.6 million to spend without dipping into the luxury tax, just enough to help add defensive talent in the draft and through the mid-level exception (MLE).

Ideally, Love will bring enough shooting and rebounding to the team to help narrow down the rest of the team’s needs. Already having one of the best backcourts in the league, the Blazer could also boast one of the best frontcourt rotations with a combination of Love-Nurkic-Collins-Leonard. While Love may seem like an albatross to some, he opens many more doors in Portland than he closes.