FanPost

Kevin Love at expense of defense

Kevin Love is absolute gold. The three time all star has emerged as the NBA's premier power forward, putting up stats of 26 points and 12 rebounds each outing. Add phenomenal passing, court vision, and the best outlet pass we've seen since Wes Unseld, and you've got Kevin Love's offense. An other-worldly combination of shooting, passing, and rebounding. Defensively, eh... The debate is ongoing about how horrible he is but the consensus is...he is just plain bad at keeping his man from scoring. Whether it is the lack of effort, the big feet, comparing Love's offense to his defense is like comparing Shawshank Redemption to Sharknado. I may be a bit radical with my analogy--but--you get the point.

Cupid wants a new home (I just came up with an excellent nickname). Minnesota is going nowhere fast and Love is afraid he is going to go down with the sinking ship. So the mans made it clear that he wants out of Minnesota and is willing to embrace a winning lifestyle...ASAP. Now the Timberwolves--facing reality--are eager to deal Love because they know he is going to opt out of his player option next season and they want something in return for his departure.

The Golden State Warriors have been at the top of the list of candidates to be Kevin's new home for the 2014-15 NBA season. Along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors offer young talent for the elite forward. Names like Klay Thompson--the main focus in the deal--, David Lee, and Harrison Barnes have been thrown around. Lee, another offensive thriving power forward who struggles on defense, is no scrub. And Harrison Barnes is a promising athlete who did not fit in Mark Jackson's system last season.

Acquiring Kevin Love would make the Warriors a much more efficient team on offense. His outlet passes are flawless to lead the break, but is that necessary on a team with prolific spot up shooters? Not only that, but the defense would take a significant turn for the worse. Klay Thomspon became more than just a shooter this past season. Thompson established himself as a top defender at his position, and with a back court pairing of Stephen Curry, the shooting guard must be a legitimate defender. Keeping Thomspon and pairing him up with defensive greats like Draymond Green, Andre Igoudala, and Andrew Bogut would keep GS a top defensive team as well as an offensive power house. I would go as far as to say, David Lee is no worse than Kevin Love at protecting the rim, and that is not saying much. Andrew Bogut may be an excellent rim protector, but he is often injured. Leaving Love in the paint to be responsible for the hoop does not sound pleasant. Concerning Harrison Barnes, Joe Lacob needs to see how Barnes plays in Kerr's new system before dealing him blindly. He may end up being a solid scorer on top of a freakish athlete.

Kevin Love is everything you want in a power forward offensively. His defense leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Imagining him in a Warriors jersey initially would have me hoping for a trade, but after thinking it over and over again, the thought of that defense scares me. Before blindly dealing two key assets to an elite defense, Golden State needs to think of the cons. Love is so attractive with his flawless offense and fascinating shooting, but his D is--to say the least--his ball and chain.

This FanPost is a submission from a member of the mighty Golden State of Mind community. While we're all here to throw up that W, these words do not necessarily reflect the views of the GSoM Crew. Still, chances are the preceding post is Unstoppable Baby!