Cleveland Cavaliers: Andrew Wiggins For Kevin Love?

The NBA trade rumor talk is centered around, not surprisingly, the best available player, Kevin Love. While the Bulls say they are making a push for him, the team with the best shot of making a trade for Love is by far the Cleveland Cavaliers. The talk is that Wiggins and a few other guys is what the Timberwolves are looking for in return to Love. As of now, the Cavs have yet to sign Wiggins to a deal, and if they do, that would prevent them from trading him for 30 days. Signing Wiggins would not mean the Timberwolves and Cavaliers trade talks are over, but it would certainly open up  window of opportunity for other teams to make a deal.

If the Cavs did trade Andrew Wiggins, he would be the first, first-overall draft pick to be traded from his original team in the last 8 drafts. And while all the talks about this trade have centered upon Wiggins on the Cavs side, Skip Bayless yesterday morning on ESPN First Take noted that trading Kyrie Irving for Kevin Love may be a good trade for both sides. I personally disagree with it froma Cavs point of view, but do acknowledge it could be an option.

The biggest question people are asking is whether or not trading away Wiggins is the best idea for the Cavs. Kevin Love is a 26 and 12 player who would be a great complement to LeBron and be the first really good rebounder he has played with in his NBA career. He would give the team an immediate shot at contending for the NBA title and without question make the team better. Kevin Love is also only 25 years old, and could potentially be in Cleveland for a long time.

The question is, is it worth trading your first overall pick with a huge upside? In this case, my answer is no. Andrew Wiggins is a phenomenal basketball player who I see as being one of the top ten players in the league in a few years. He is a great defensive player, would cost the Cavs less money over the next 4 years or so with a rookie contract, and has the potential to develop as a scorer and all around player in the next 2 to 3 years which really isn't that long to wait. In the meantime, I believe LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and a young Wiggins could still carry this team to new heights. In my eyes, any team LeBron James is on is a contender, especially in the East.

It's hard to tell the Cavs that trading for Kevin Love is not worth it, because there is no question he would make the team better right now, but I just don't believe trading away the number one pick in the NBA draft with such great potential is ever a good idea. Only time will tell though.

B. Howell

Twitter: @TheLeBronReport

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLeBronReport

Email: TheLeBronReport@gmail.com

LeBron James: The Decision Part 2

When LeBron James made "The Decision" on July 8th, 2010, the basketball community collectively held their breath as "The King" announced where he would be taking his talents. As he so famously stated, "...I'm going to take my talents to South Beach..." and the rest is history. After the fact, LeBron admitted that the way he handled the situation may have been a mistake.

He said, "If I could look back on it I would probably change a lot of it," said James. "The fact of having a whole TV special, and people getting the opportunity to watch me make a decision on where I wanted to play, I probably would change that. Because I can now look and see if the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it."

The way he handled the situation created a deep hatred of LeBron by Cleveland fans, players, coaches, and owners. Unknowingly to them, he would make amends to this mistake 4 years later with his "Decision Part 2," a much less publicized version than the first one. But now that he is back in Cleveland and made his decision, it is time to take a look at if this was the right decision. 

At the end of the day, right or wrong, it doesn't really matter. Whatever decision LeBron made was his decision. And it sounds like, according to the people closest to LeBron, going home to Cleveland was something he needed to do. 

On ESPN's Real Talk with Jason Whitlock, LeBron's business partner Maverick Carter explained how LeBron made his decision on his own. 

“LeBron’s a 29-year-old man with lots of money, got a wife, two kids, one on the way. He makes his own decisions. “He doesn’t need anyone pushing him any way, and a guy like that, you’re not going to push him either way.”

Regardless of how or why LeBron made the decision to return to Cleveland, he did it, and will be

playing in a Cleveland Cavaliers' jersey once again. The biggest question you can ask now is whether or not LeBron can bring an NBA title to Cleveland this time around. Only time will tell.

B. Howell

Twitter: @TheLeBronReport

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLeBronReport

Email: TheLeBronReport@gmail.com

LeBron James: 6 or 23?

Welcome, readers, to my inaugural blog post. First I would like to thank you all for taking to time to read my first post, and second I would like to ask that if you like what you see, you please kindly share my blog with anyone who you think would enjoy it. Now let's get to the important stuff. LeBron.

LeBron James recently posted a photo on Instagram of him in a Cleveland number 6 jersey, next to him in a Cavs number 23 jersey. The photo can be found below.

 

This is turning into a big decision for LeBron, and while it is incredibly insignificant to basketball itself, the fans are really voicing their opinions on it. Obviously the biggest thing being brought up is that 23 was Michael Jordan's number, the player LeBron James is constantly being compared to. One thing being brought up is a 2009 interview with LeBron James while he was still with the Cavs. Ironically enough, in a game where the Cavs beat the Heat 111-104 behind James' 34 points in Miami, he announced he would be switching his number from 23 to 6 after the season. "I just think that what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized some way soon," LeBron said, who himself has worn the number 23 on his jersey since his sophomore year in high school. "There would be no LeBron James, no Kobe Bryant, no Dwyane Wade if there wasn't Michael Jordan first."

"I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. I'm starting a petition, and I've got to get eveyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I'm not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it."

Now, it appears, he may be considering changing his mind. I am here today to tell him not to. Number 23 is Michael Jordan's number. No matter what LeBron does, Jordan wore it first, and it will always be associated with him. LeBron is the best player in the world right now, and only time will tell if he will one day be considered the best player of all time. He deserves his own number, not one solely associated with the player who many consider right now to be the greatest to ever play basketball.

The number 6 that LeBron wore in Miami has become his number. When LeBron announced he was coming home, one the internet filled with business owner designing a shirt that say, "FOR6IVEN" on them. They have been hugely popular, with phrases underneath the FOR6IVEN such as "The Kingdom Restored" or "The King Returns". These shirts have become so popular in part because of the automatic recognition of the number 6 and its association to LeBron James. It has become HIS number during his time in Miami.

Going back to number 23 would be a mistake for LeBron. He needs to continue engraving his legacy in the history of the NBA, and he deserves a number no one of his caliber has ever worn before him. He can make the number 6 his own. Making 23 his own just does not seem possible. I'm not saying that the number 23 should be retired at all. In the MLB, the only retired number is 42, for Jackie Robinson, which he deserved for breaking the color barrier. I am not so sure being a great player alone is grounds for retiring your number league-wide.

LeBron, make the smart decision. Wear number 6.

B. Howell
Twitter: @TheLeBronReport
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLeBronReport
Email: TheLeBronReport@gmail.com