Kevin Love is headed to New Orleans for his fourth All-Star Game. He's enjoying his best season since coming to Cleveland, and until back problems sabotaged him, he was the only player in the East averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
And yet the trade rumors refuse to die.
Love's name has been mentioned in trade talks with the New York Knicks for weeks. The Cavaliers, incidentally, play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on national television Saturday. At this point, however, Love has grown accustomed to the rumors.
"I predicted that," Love said. "It doesn't matter if I have an All-Star year ... it's always going to be there, right?"
The Cavs and Knicks discussed a Love for Carmelo Anthony trade last season around the All-Star break, but much has changed since then. Love is more comfortable in Cleveland than he ever was before, a credit to coach Tyronn Lue and the work he has put in to make Love a priority in his system.
The Cavs are also low on bigs; Love and Tristan Thompson are the only two healthy bigs on the roster. Channing Frye might be 7 feet, but even Lue joked he plays more like a guard than a big.
LeBron James made it clear last season he'd like to play with Anthony, and the Knicks are clearly intent on moving him out of New York. Anthony represents the type of playmaker James craves, but at what price?
The Cavs don't seem interested in including Love in any potential deal for Anthony, and the rest of their trade assets are limited. Trying to match Anthony's $24 million salary would likely need the inclusion of a third team, but the Cavs simply don't have much to offer.
James wasn't divulging any secrets when asked if he has spoken to Anthony about the trade rumors.
"If I did I wouldn't tell you," he said with a slight smile. "I knew the question was coming."
The Knicks appear destined to miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season with Anthony, who has only made it out of the first round once since going to New York. He has never played for an NBA championship and reached the conference finals only once in his career.
"I just want the best for my friend, no matter what it is," James said. "If he's there in New York or if he's not I just want the best for him. I want him to be happy. That's all that matters. The game comes very easy to you when you're happy about where you're at, so if he's happy in New York or he wants to be elsewhere, not sure. But he's done a lot for that franchise and did a lot for the Denver franchise as well. (We'll) see what happens."
Love, meanwhile, appears healthy after missing two games with back spasms. The back has bothered him periodically for weeks, but he acknowledged the MRI that came back clean gave him peace of mind he isn't dealing with anything serious. The team discussed giving him an injection in his back, but Love doesn't think that will be necessary.
Love has been mentioned in trade rumors since early in his career when he was with the Timberwolves. At this point, he's used to it.
"It's good to be wanted," he said. "I said (last) summer after we won, too, and even in my first six years in Minnesota, it's been a great time of growth for me," Love said. "It just always comes with the territory. When you are one of the best teams, there's always going to be a lot of good praise and also a lot of scrutiny, so when that stuff comes along, I've done a lot better job of letting things just roll off me and I think it's helped me on the court as well."
