Los Angeles Lakers: 3 players to absolutely avoid trading for

By Zane Harris | Jul 13, 2021

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Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Kevin Love

Kevin Love could be a great addition to the Los Angeles Lakers, however, there are a couple of red flags and it may end up being unnecessary to trade for him.

The first red flag for Love is his defensive ability. Love has a reputation of being a well below-average defender.

With the Lakers being one of the best defensive teams in the league, they would still be able to keep their heads above water with Love. However, they would likely no longer be the defensive juggernaut they have been since the acquisition of Anthony Davis.

Love had a very high defensive rating last season of 113. While this could be a result of playing on a poor defensive team in the Cleveland Cavaliers, it does not help that Love played some of the worst defense of his career last season.

Along with this, Love had a career-low in rebounds last season. This could be due to a lack of effort as a result of not wanting to play for the Cavaliers any longer. However, if Love is simply a player that spots up in the corner for the Lakers, he will not be worth trading for.

The final reason the Los Angeles Lakers should not trade for Kevin Love is that they may not have to trade for him to add him to the roster.

It has been rumored that the Cavaliers may end up biting the bullet and buying out Love’s contract similar to what they did for Andre Drummond.

If this is the case, the Lakers would be able to simply sign Love to the team rather than being forced to give up pieces to acquire him.

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