Kevin Love Trade Rumors: Cavs Don't Plan to Move PF, View Him as 'Cornerstone'

Trading five-time All-Star Kevin Love "is not high on the [Cleveland Cavaliers'] list of priorities," Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor reported Thursday.

The Cavs signed Love to a four-year, $120 million extension in the summer and still see him as a "cornerstone" of their future, according to Fedor.

The New York Times' Marc Stein reported Tuesday that some inside the NBA believe Love is "available for the proverbial right price." Stein included the Denver Nuggets as one team that has remained interested in the veteran power forward.

Cavaliers head coach Larry Drew was circumspect when addressing the possibility of a Love trade, per Fedor:

"Would I be surprised? As far as trades are concerned, I understand the nature of this business. Anybody can be traded. I've been in this league long enough where I've seen that happen. I think any deal that makes sense for any team, sure, they'll be willing to pull the trigger. But that's just the nature of our business."

Since joining the Cavs in 2014, Love has never been far from trade rumors. He was the most expendable member of the team's Big Three when playing alongside Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, so any hypothetical deals to dramatically improve the roster almost always included Love.

ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne, Dave McMenamin and Brian Windhorst reported in July 2017 the Cavs had a three-team deal in place that would've sent Love to Denver and Paul George to Cleveland from the Indiana Pacers. The trade fell apart, and Indiana dealt George to the Oklahoma City Thunder instead.

The Cavaliers own the NBA's worst record (8-30) and are likely years away from getting back to the playoffs. It's entirely plausible Cleveland fails to make noticeable progress over the duration of Love's extension. The team never won more than 33 games in the four years between James' departure in 2010 and subsequent return.

Because of that, the trade chatter regarding Love is unlikely to die down. As much as the Cavs value him as the face the franchise, flipping him for a high draft pick or promising young star might benefit their long-term rebuild more.