NBA Rumors: Latest Trade and Free-Agent Chatter in Finals Aftermath

The 2016-17 NBA season has finally drawn to its logical conclusion. We knew from the get-go that the union of Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors was going to make for a virtually unstoppable force. Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers managed to knock off the Warriors once in the Finals, but Golden State was indeed otherwise unstoppable in the postseason.

For most of the 29 NBA teams that aren't Golden State—including the Cavaliers—the focus now shifts to the offseason and trying to construct rosters capable of chasing the Warriors for NBA domination. The few teams that aren't actively trying to build contenders will still be making moves to prepare for the future.

Many of the moves made are going to come in free agency, but teams cannot officially sign players until July 6. We'll have the NBA draft before that—on June 22, to be exact—and plenty of trade talk in the meantime. The silliness of the NBA offseason is officially here.

What will unfold over the next couple of months? We don't know. What we do know is that the next month will be filled with rumors. We're here to examine some of the latest.

Cleveland May Have to Trade Love

If the Cavaliers hope to catch the Warriors in their back-and-forth Finals rivalry, they're going to have to alter their roster. The current group—while good enough to dominate most other NBA teams—doesn't have an answer for the current Warriors lineup. 

Unfortunately, the Cavaliers aren't armed with many future draft picks, and they likely aren't going to be able to afford a premier free agent. The only way Cleveland may be able to add another top-tier talent to the team is by trading away a member of the Big 3.

That member obviously isn't going to be LeBron James or Kyrie Irving. This means Kevin Love is the guy who could end up on the trading block this offseason.

Love is an outstanding player, but his lack of defense makes him expendable, as Ben Golliver of SI.com recently pointed out:

"Love is, and has been, the most expendable of Cleveland's three stars. This isn't a 'Trade Love because he sucks!' decision, but rather a 'Trade Love because matching up with Durant's Warriors demands it' decision. Indeed, Love was excellent throughout the 2017 playoffs—shooting the ball well, hitting the glass and playing passable defense at both the four and five—and much improved in the 2017 Finals compared to last year. But the Cavaliers have learned over the last two weeks that they can't beat the Warriors in an up-and-down shootout and that they must improve their defensive personnel."

The Cavaliers proved they had enough offense in the Finals, even against a talented defensive team like the Warriors—they put up 120 points in a losing effort in Game 5. What they don't have is a defensive answer for Durant, Stephen Curry and the rest of the Warriors offense. Moving Love may be the only way to find that answer.

Celtics Interested in Griffin, Hayward

While the Cavaliers may be busy trying to chase the Warriors, the Boston Celtics will be busy trying to construct a team that can best Cleveland. The good news is that Boston is armed with draft capital, including the first overall pick in this year's draft.

Boston has a solid core of young players, one that was good enough to last five games in the Eastern Conference Finals. With a couple more top-end pieces on board, the team may be able to challenge Cleveland in the East.

Drafting a premier prospect like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball could help get the Celtics where they need to be. However, if the team wants to improve immediately, adding veterans may also be necessary. It takes time for even the best prospects to emerge in the NBA. Unless the Celtics are willing to admit they cannot overcome LeBron's Cavs next season, they'll probably be active in free agency.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski on The Vertical, two players the Celtics will go after are Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers and Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz.

"I think Boston's two primary free-agent targets right now are Gordon Hayward and Blake Griffin," Wojnarowski explained. "Now they're not going to get both of them, but they're both players who would potentially have interest there, and who Boston I think looks at in different ways with their future."

It's not shocking to hear that the Celtics are interested in Griffin and Hayward, as they are two of the top players entering free agency this year. What would be a surprise is if Boston pulls off the necessary moves to become the dominant team in the East.

LeBron May Head West After 2017

If James' Cavaliers fall to the Celtics next season—or even if they are embarrassed by the Warriors again in the Finals—there's a chance that he won't return to Cleveland after the 2017-18 season. James has the ability to opt out of his current contract next offseason, and he may do that to find a more competitive team.

Wojnarowski believes James could wind up with either the Clippers or the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018.

"I'm not sure there's an expectation he's re-signing there," Wojnarowski said. "I think they feel, I think within Cleveland and around the league, they feel that he's very much in play to leave again and likely head out West to one of the two L.A. teams. The Lakers could very well be a target."

We're obviously peering a bit into the future here, but this is a rumor that is worth diving into this offseason. The moves teams like the Cavaliers, the Celtics, the Clippers and the Lakers make in the next two months could determine James' fate next offseason.

The prospect of playing in Los Angeles is attractive and all, but James isn't going to join a team that has less championship potential than the Cavaliers possess. The Clippers will have to remain contenders, while the Lakers will have to become contenders.

James may not see the point in leaving Cleveland if a team like the Celtics can't challenge him in the East. It's not all that difficult to convince players to come to a team that has a clear path to the Finals.

All of this is assuming the Warriors don't actively try to make their team better in the offseason—which they probably will. As good as this incarnation of the Warriors is, it probably isn't the roster that James is going to have to build a team to defeat.