Atlanta Hawks: Why Trading for Kevin Love Makes Sense

Could Kevin Love soon be an Atlanta Hawk?

While NBA Free Agency has been rather quiet today, ESPN put together a possible blockbuster trade that could potentially include the Atlanta Hawks acquiring star power forward Kevin Love.

As speculation of Carmelo Anthony being dealt from the New York Knicks continues to be a major topic of discussion, ESPN’s Ian Begley and Bobby Marks constructed plausible trade scenarios for the situation. Of those included once where Carmelo Anthony would be sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Atlanta Hawks would get Cleveland’s Kevin Love in return

The trade would work between the three teams, in which the Atlanta Hawks would send recently acquired Marco Belinelli and one of the team’s three first round picks for the 2018 NBA Draft to the Knicks. While there is no indication that a trade of this nature would even be discussed by the front offices of any of the three teams included, it is a move that makes a whole lot of sense.

While it isn’t the most glorious return for the Knicks, it is one that allows New York to sustain the most amount of financial flexibility. The remainder Carmelo Anthony’s massive contract would be off the books, leaving enough cap room to potentially extend Kristaps Porzingis or sign more free agents around him.

For the Atlanta Hawks, Kevin Love could serve as the immediate replacement for Paul Millsap. Love could potentially return to his prime days with a team allowing him to have free rein, like how it was in his tenure with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Love’s perimeter shooting is still elite amongst NBA forwards, and could easily put up massive numbers on a team like the Hawks.

While this is entirely speculation and has no jurisdiction of being even considered by any side, it is a plausible idea for all parties. Would it likely ever happen? Likely not, but the NBA offseason prides itself in unpredictability. This, while impractical, would be as unpredictable as it gets.