NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs' Brandon Knight Drawing More Interest Than Kevin Love

NBA teams scouring the early-season trade market are reportedly more interested in Cleveland Cavaliers guard Brandon Knight than they are in the team's star power forward, Kevin Love, according to a report from Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. 

"If you can take the hit on his (salary) number and match it, you can get rid of a bad contract and get a guy who can still play," a league executive told Deveney. "He's got the most interest. He is 28 years old [Note: He's 27 until Dec. 2]. He's been through a lot obviously with the injuries, but he is a guy who can probably help you this year and maybe you keep him on a good value deal if he produces."

Despite those comments, it's hard to believe there's a vibrant market for Knight's services. For one, he's due to make $15.6 million this season, and Deveney noted that the Cavaliers would be willing to take on salary in exchange for his services only if a first-round pick was attached.

That's a pretty tough sell unless a team is getting off a very bad contract with multiple years remaining on it. Knight's greatest value is that his deal is an expiring one. 

On the court, Knight has steadily regressed since averaging 19.6 points and 5.1 assists with the Phoenix Suns in the 2015-16 season. He played a reserve role for the Suns the following year, missed the entire 2017-18 with a torn ACL, and in the past two seasons between the Cavaliers and Houston Rockets, he has earned just 26 starts.

In two games this year he's averaged five points and three assists per contest, shooting 27.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three. It seems unlikely he has much of a future in Cleveland, with recent first-round picks Collin Sexton and Darius Garland the backcourt of the future and Jordan Clarkson and Matthew Dellavedova available off the bench.

Another issue for Knight is that he isn't a particularly good perimeter shooter. His best season in that regard came in the 2014-15 season with the Milwaukee Bucks, when he shot 40.9 from three. But for his career, he's a more pedestrian 35.4 percent from deep, and last year shot just 31.8 percent from beyond the arc. 

For teams looking to dump a bad contract and clear cap space for upcoming offseasons, Knight may be an attractive piece. It's harder to imagine a contending team seeking him out, at his contract number, when they likely could find a player with an equivalent or greater impact in a trade or on the buyout market. 

The Cavaliers will likely be fielding plenty of calls between now and February. Love (19.2 PPG, 15.3 RPG) remains a productive player whom contending teams lacking an inside-outside threat at the 4 may consider. 

The issue teams may have when it comes to giving up assets for Love is his contract. The 31-year-old is in the first year of a four-year, $120.4 million deal that will pay him $31.2 million next year, $31.2 million in the 2021-22 season and $28.9 million in 2022-23, when he'll be 34 years old. 

Oklahoma City's inability to offload Chris Paul and his enormous contract, that lasts until his age-36 season, is an indication that Cleveland may struggle to get strong value for Love. Granted, he's younger than Paul and his contract isn't nearly as prohibitive. On the other hand, there's an argument to be made that Paul is still the better player. 

So Love's trade value probably isn't sky high at the moment, even if he absolutely could help a contending team. But outside of a pure salary dump move, it's a little hard to believe that teams around the NBA aren't more interested in Love than they are in Knight.