With LeBron James' decision to return to Cleveland, the Cavaliers are now expected to aggressively pursue Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves, which would instantly make the Cavs one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference.
"I do believe the Cavs will aggressively target Kevin Love," said ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "There is probably not a player in the league that would fit better alongside LeBron James than Kevin Love."
According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the Cavs have already offered the Timberwolves Anthony Bennett (the first pick of the 2013 draft), Dion Waiters (the 4th pick of the 2012 draft) and a future first-round pick for Love.
Love, who can opt out of his contract after next season, has never made the playoffs in six NBA seasons and recently told ESPN that he wants to be on a team where he can win.
Earlier this week, Ken Berger reported that Love does have interest in playing with the Cavs as long as they were able to sign James.
Even with LeBron on board, the Cavs have several pieces that can be used in a trade to land Love.
One of the intriguing aspects of LeBron's letter to Sports Illustrated is that he mentions several Cavs players by name but does not mention Andrew Wiggins, the first pick of this year's draft. Wiggins has not yet signed a contract with the Cavaliers, which makes him eligible to be traded and it is hard to imagine the T'wolves will want to make a deal without the University of Kansas product.
The Cavs also may have as many as three first-round picks in next year's draft which can potentially be used in a trade. One of those, ironically, came from the Miami Heat, who suddenly need it a lot more than the Cavs do.
The Heat can keep that pick if it is in the top 10.
If the Cavs do trade for Love, he could potentially stay in Cleveland for two seasons even without an extension. However, he would almost certainly want to at least opt out and re-sign to a max contract if staying in Cleveland is considered desirable.
