Heading up to the NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets were reportedly among a three-team trade that would have sent Paul George from the Indiana Pacers to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Love to the Mile High City.
Sources told ESPN’s Marc Stein that the Cavs, Pacers, and Nuggets engaged in trade discussions, but the trio couldn’t finalize a deal on draft night last Thursday.
League sources: Cavs, Pacers and Nuggets have discussed a three-way deal that would land Paul George in Cleveland and Kevin Love in Denver
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 25, 2017
It’s unclear if any deal that sends Love to Denver will get done at any point, but the proposition of landing the forward is an “exciting” one, “Stokley & Zach” co-host Zach Bye said Monday.
“My takeaway with Kevin Love is this is a guy who I think could really thrive in Denver. I think he would work really well with (Nikola) Jokic. Both these guys have a high basketball IQ,” Bye said.
“The way that Jokic is able to pass the basketball and Kevin Love the way he’s able to stretch the floor from that position, I think it would be very enticing.”
Bye said he thinks that the Nuggets are “a playoff team” should Love head west to Denver, and his time in Cleveland resembles Chris Bosh’s in Miami, where he played third fiddles to Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.
“He reminds me a lot of Chris Bosh, who put up big numbers in Toronto and then was asked to play third fiddle behind LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. His averages all across the board dropped, just like Kevin Love’s,” Bye said.
“I think we might see the real version of this guy if he came here. The real 24-and-12 guy.”
However, Brandon Stokley, the second half of “Stokley & Zach,” said it’s not so much Love’s production that worries him — though there’s concern for his health as he grows older — by that what would the Nuggets look like with Love.
“I’m one of two ways here. Either go all-in and piggyback this (move) with another one. Hopefully. It’s easier said than done, obviously. Or, do you just start tanking to try to get better draft picks? To try to get that player you need in the NBA?” Stokley said. “Or can you build around Jokic?
“Right now you’re at the fork in the road. Which way do you head? Which direction are you heading? Do you want to be the eighth spot in the playoffs or ninth and 10th every single year or would you rather go all in and tank for a year or two and try to get that draft pick, to get that franchise player?”
Kevin Love to Nuggets? He LOVES nuggets. pic.twitter.com/dH8EheG9G9
— Stephen Nelson (@Stephen__Nelson) June 25, 2017
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
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