Cavaliers Rumors: CLE Won't Trade Kevin Love, Tank in LeBron James' Absence

Without LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not a championship contender. The team may struggle to reach the postseason. The smartest long-term play for the Cavaliers might be to trade veterans like Kevin Love, accumulate assets and rebuild around young players.

But the organization reportedly isn't interested in taking that approach, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:

"For days and weeks leading up to James' Sunday announcement that he was indeed leaving, team sources have insisted to Cleveland.com that the Cavs would not go into full tank mode if James left, in which they essentially try to lose, clear cap space and rebuild through the draft.

"Sources re-affirmed that position on Monday, for instance holding to the organizational line that Love is not on the trading block."

It's possible in the weaker Eastern Conference that the Cavaliers could make a run at the No. 7 or 8 seed, though a team built around Love, rookie Collin Sexton, JR Smith, Tristan Thompson, George Hill, Kyle Korver, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson, among others, still has a pretty low ceiling. 

The Cavaliers won't be a bad team by any stretch, but teams like the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards all have higher ceilings. The Miami Heat should still be solid, while the Detroit Pistons will get a full season to see if Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson can lead the team to the postseason. 

From a practical standpoint, however, the 2018-19 season will be a pretty good year to bottom out.

Many of the worst teams in the NBA from a season ago will be improved, with a few teams likely to make significant jumps. The Phoenix Suns added Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Trevor Ariza. The Dallas Mavericks now have Luka Doncic and DeAndre Jordan. The Memphis Grizzlies will return the healthy pair of Mike Conley Jr. and Marc Gasol to go along with Jaren Jackson Jr. 

Plus, the Cavaliers will only have their own first-round pick next year if it falls between 1-10. If it falls to No. 11 or lower, it will be owed to the Atlanta Hawks. 

And there will absolutely be interest around the NBA in Love, a five-time All-Star. The 29-year-old never put up monster stats during his time in Cleveland, often playing second or even third fiddle behind James and Kyrie Irving, so it's easy to forget he averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in his final season with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2013-14).

Maybe Love will re-emerge and lead the Cavaliers to the postseason. Perhaps the Cavaliers believe they owe it to their fans to give this group a chance to prove themselves in a post-LeBron world. But the Cavaliers could hardly be blamed for analyzing their current situation and reaching the conclusion that it's time for a full-blown rebuild.