Scenario 5: Jaylen Brown and Josh Jackson for Kevin Love
A couple notes on this one.
Boston probably wouldn’t do it. They’ve invested in Brown as a future star player and have high hopes for him.
They still haven’t drafted Jackson, but that’s who most draft analysts expect to be taken No. 3 overall in Thursday’s draft.
While it’s unlikely Boston would make this trade this summer, the Celtics have reportedly been interested in Love in recent years.
The Celtics are a strong contender to land Gordon Hayward in free-agency.
Perhaps a “Big Four” of Isaiah Thomas, Gordon Hayward, Kevin Love and Al Horford would be enough for the Celtics to live with trading two young wings with high upside.
So why would it make sense for the Cavs?
Look at the way the league is trending. Guys like Brown and Jackson, who are versatile, athletic defenders are going to be especially valuable going forward.
Brown already has shown flashes of his offensive upside even as a rookie. Jackson has all the makings of a great two-way player and although he won’t be expected to make a huge impact his rookie year, he can provide a much-needed role off the bench to eat up quality minutes and help the Cavs stars get a breather.
Now let’s look at the even bigger picture.
If LeBron leaves, the Cavs would still have a bright future ahead with Irving in his prime and Brown + Jackson on their way up.
If LeBron stays, even as his career fades year after year, those two will only get better. He could be on the back end of his career and those two would be in their primes.
Given the way Brown and Jackson match up with the Warriors, they would fit better in the defensive challenge in the short-term.
Given the outlook of the Cavs franchise down the road, they would be an even greater help for the future. The bigger question is whether the Celtics would even consider that trade in the first place, but if that deal were to happen this summer, some people would view it as the Cavs “punting on 2017-18.” However, that trade comes out as a net gain for the Cavs the way I look at it.
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