Isaiah Thomas may be the big name the Cavs got in return in the blockbuster Kyrie Irving trade, but Jae Crowder was an equally valuable part of the trade from the Cavs’ perspective. He provides the Cavs with the versatile wing they were looking for this offseason.
And as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin points out, Crowder’s addition could potentially make Kevin Love surplus to requirements in Cleveland.
The addition of Crowder also could make Love expendable, allowing Cleveland to dangle either the All-Star stretch forward, the Brooklyn pick — or both — on the market in February to make a push to revamp the roster before the postseason.
The Cavs were already shopping Love earlier this offseason as they were looking to trade for that versatile wing that can make them better-equipped to match up with the Warriors. But now that they have Crowder to play small-ball power forward alongside LeBron James, the Cavs may be that much more inclined to include Love in another blockbuster deal.
Trading Love is hardly a given, though. He’s still a very effective, All-Star-caliber player, and the Cavs now have other assets in terms of draft picks which they can use in order to acquire another piece that they might need. But Love will most likely be a trade chip that will be on the table all season now that they have Crowder to throw out there.