Rumor: Execs Believe Cavs Would Try to Trade Kevin Love If LeBron James Leaves

If LeBron James leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer, Kevin Love might be the first guy following him out the door.

NBA executives believe the Cavs will attempt to move Love should James bolt in free agency, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.

James, 33, has a player option for the 2018-19 season and is widely expected to test the free-agent market. The Cavaliers' spiraling season, which perhaps reached rock bottom in Saturday night's 120-88 loss to the Houston Rockets, has given some around the league hope James would leave his hometown franchise for a second time.

Cleveland sits 30-21 and is only a half-game ahead of the Washington Wizards for third place in the Eastern Conference.

The team has struggled to find chemistry amid myriad new faces and has been particularly disappointing since the return of Isaiah Thomas, who looks like a shell of his former self as he attempts to bounce back from a hip injury.

Thomas was supposed to be the biggest on-court piece the Cavs acquired from the Boston Celtics for Kyrie Irving in the offseason but has instead been a two-way detriment. With Love perhaps on the shelf for the next two months with a broken hand, James will essentially be forced to lead the Cavs by himself for the remainder of the regular season.

"I'm a player and that's it," James told reporters Saturday when he asked if the Cavs needed to make a trade. "That's not a question for me. I show up to work every day. I bust my tail every day. I'm the first one to get to the gym and I'm one of the last ones to leave. I do my part. I control what I can control and that is what I can control."

Should James' frustration boil over and he leaves, it would be natural for Cleveland to deal Love—though it's unclear what kind of haul it could get in return. He is under contract through the 2019-20 season.

Love's future has been the cause of speculation almost since he arrived in Cleveland, with the big man often viewed as a scapegoat any time the Cavs have problems. One heated team meeting included Thomas questioning Love's whereabouts in a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder last month.

The five-time All-Star is averaging 17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds in his fourth season in Cleveland.