Charlotte Hornets: Why a trade for Kevin Love works

The Charlotte Hornets are sitting on the outside looking in, and a single trade could make them a potential playoff team.

This year’s offseason has not been kind to the Charlotte Hornets, as they lost two of their leading scorers. With the team’s losses, they are a team that is projected to not win many games this season.

While all hope may seem lost, the Hornets can still make things right by making a trade. Since last season, I have advocated for a trade for Kevin Love. A trade of this magnitude would help the team on many levels, while also freeing potential bench players from the Hornets’ roster.

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On August 21st, Bleacher Report did an article on Dog-Day Trades for a few NBA teams. One of those trades contained an option where the Hornets could send Nicolas Batum to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kevin Love.

This trade would work for both teams. Batum does not have a clear role entering the 2019-20 season. After the season, Batum told the press that he could not see where he would play because of the young talent.

There are a lot of younger players on the roster who played well toward the end of last season, and it’s hard to see how Batum could start over them. Batum is the highest-paid player on the roster, making $25 million, and that money should not go to waste on the bench.

Trading for Kevin Love would help the Hornets in their frontcourt, and it would give them another top-scoring option. Love is a player who averaged 17.0 points and 10.9 rebounds per game last season. Love’s only downside is that he only played in 22 games last season due to a chronic foot injury.

Currently, the Hornets have Miles Bridges and Marvin Williams, who could start at power forward. Both of these players did not average over 11 points per game last season, and a lot of it could have been because of their size.

Kevin Love is 6’10, and he brings size to any team’s frontcourt. His size has helped him to be a force on the glass, hence why he has been able to average over 11+ rebounds per game for his entire career.

The Hornets were in the bottom half of the league last season in rebounds with 43.8 per game. The team was in the top-three the season before when Dwight Howard was on the roster.

Another aspect of Love’s game that could help the Hornets is his ability to shoot from the perimeter. Love is a guy who plays well in the paint, while also having a nice three-point game.

With Love on the roster, it would give Charlotte a better and more reliable option from the perimeter. Between the last two seasons, Love shot 38% from beyond the arc. Last season, Charlotte was the 18th ranked team in three-point percentage with 35.1%.

With this trade, it would allow the Hornets to get rid of a high contract from a position that has many promising young players. It would also enable Miles Bridges to move back to his natural position at small forward.

Love would do well on the Hornets, as he would be an instant starter whenever he gets the chance to play. His scoring production would possibly be enough to make the Hornets a playoff team next season.

He could make an impact right away, he would challenge his teammates to play better, and he would also be a great locker room leader. A Terry Rozier and Kevin Love dynamic-duo would bode well for the Hornets.

The Hornets have the option to make a trade at any time for Love due to there being no restrictions. If the Hornets elect to trade for Love, I would recommend doing it before the preseason, so Love has enough time to get adjusted in Charlotte.