The NBA is a superstar's league, probably more than any other professional league in North America.
It's why extremely talented players, like Carmelo Anthony, can hold a club hostage by demanding a trade to a "large market" if they won't resign. Anthony did that three years ago when he wanted out of Denver. He demanded a trade, but would only approve a trade to the New York Knicks. He got his way, and just re-signed with the Knicks.
This play has just been performed again, with Kevin Love cast in the lead role.
Love, a 6'10" power forward out of UCLA, was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth-overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. After toiling away on a Timberwolves team that has not sniffed the playoffs since he's been there, Love has had enough. The writing was on the wall when he signed a three-year extension when his rookie deal expired. He was sending a message to the team that they have a three-year window to put a quality team around him or he's gone. With one year left on his deal, Love made it clear he had no intention of staying in Minnesota.
Enter LeBron James.
It was James who changed the entire landscape of the NBA this summer when he opted out of his contract with the Miami Heat to become arguably the most coveted free agent in the league's history. While teams made pitches to sign the best basketball player in the league today, there were realistically only two places where he would sign: Miami or his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.
The NBA off-season was largely put on hold while executives waited on James' decision. While some players, like Kyle Lowry, used this period to re-sign, free agency was frozen. No one wanted to commit money in case LeBron chose their team. General managers of teams that believed there was a chance of signing James traded away pieces to clear salary space.
With a single article, James restarted NBA free agency. In an article he wrote through Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins, LeBron announced he was returning to Cleveland.
How does this relate to Love? I'm glad you asked. While "LeBron Watch" was reaching a fevered pitch, the Timberwolves were still trying to trade Love. It was hard for the team to get anything of value as his new team needed assurances Love would re-sign. Love would not do this.
Once LeBron said he was returning to the Cavaliers, Love said he would like to be in the King's court in Cleveland. Who wouldn't want to play with LeBron?
As the Cavs and Timberwolves tried to work out a deal, first-overall pick Canadian Andrew Wiggins' name was thrown into the mix. Why? Well, speculation began when LeBron failed to mention Wiggins or fellow countryman Anthony Bennett in his letter. Also, the Cavaliers and the NBA "discontinued" the sale of Wiggins' Cleveland jersey during the first week of August. The team said they were simply sold out, but that's not what the website said.
The "will they, won't they" drama concluded Thursday as the teams agreed to - but not completed - a trade, shipping Love to Cleveland for Wiggins, Bennett and the Cavaliers' 2015 first round pick. The teams are now just waiting for Wiggins' no-trade window to pass, as the league prohibits trading rookies for 30 days after they sign their first contract.
So, Love got his way. He got out of Minnesota and was moved to a team with title aspirations. Will the Cavaliers regret this move? It all depends on whether or not they win a title. The City of Cleveland is starving for a championship. As a city, they have not had a champion since a pre-Super Bowl era Browns team won the NFL championship in 1964. If the Cavaliers can win the franchise's first NBA title, it doesn't matter how much future they sacrifice.
This summer saga shows how the league can completely shift on one or two superstars wanting to change teams. It happened four years ago when LeBron first left Cleveland. He essentially held the entire league hostage as he aired his "The Decision" special. It led to the creation of the second "big three" in Miami, as LeBron and Chris Bosh took their talents to South Beach to join Dwyane Wade on the Heat.
During this off-season, the Cavaliers were transformed a bottom feeder to an instant contender with a legitimate chance for a NBA title because two players decided they want to play basketball somewhere else. Once again, LeBron convinced a big man to join him and his new team with a guard.
Welcome to the new big three, NBA.
