The way I look at the rumoured Love - Wiggins scenario is that it's really a trade-off in different things that you have to weigh.
1) Kevin Love is a highly productive player and a lot of his skills work really well together with LeBron: Rebounding, outlet passes, spreading the floor, low post and Pick and Pop in the halfcourt.
2) There's a good chance Wiggins will never reach the level at which Love is currently playing.
-> I think it's worth the risk to take Love and take the (low) chance that in 5 years Wiggins might be better than Love is right now.
3) If you do the trade you devalue Bennett and Thompson. Bennett is rumoured to be included in the packet anyways. Everybody knows you play Love 40 min at PF and 30 min at Center for Andy when he's healthy.
4) Do you plan to play Thompson in a Taj Gibson role, where he backs up both big positions? Can he do that efficiently? Thompson is 1 inch smaller than Gibson, has 3 inches less wingspan, but his standing reach is only half an inch shorter somehow according to DX. Maybe you can get away with it vs reserve units. But this would also mean that you stop an aging LeBron from playing stretch 4 in certain lineups.
5) Tristan Thompson is represented by Rich Paul. Will that create a conflict of interest? Some agent power play could hurt the team?
-> You'd have to negotiate a trade of Thompson in good faith and then there's the question who's the the rim protector insurance for the injury prone Varejao?
One thing I'd like would be something like: Side deal with Minnesota where Cleveland gives up Thompson for Brewer + Dieng. Maybe a third team would be needed to make it work.
Then you'd have a lineup that looks like:
Kyrie / backup PG / Waiters
Waiters / Brewer
LeBron / Miller / Brewer
Love / LeBron
Varejao / Dieng
I think this would be a pretty strong lineup.
But personally if I'm Cleveland I'd do the Wiggins for Love trade and try to figure out something how you deal with the Thompson situation.
