Kevin Love – Cleveland Cavaliers

Out of all the contracts and players in the league, the guy that makes the most sense for the Thunder to acquire would be Kevin Love. The veteran forward still has two-years left on his contract and is owed $60.2M, making him a player that would instantly push the Thunder over the minimum salary cap line for the 2021-22 season. 

In addition to being the salary they need to add, Oklahoma City could also wind up being the “middle-man” in Love’s career as he would not be spending two seasons with the Thunder.

Sam Presti and the Thunder’s front-office could wind up doing a similar deal with Kevin Love like they did with Chris Paul and Al Horford by bringing in a veteran guy for a year and then moving him for more future assets. 

If the Thunder were to acquire Love from the Cavaliers, let him play a little bit and prove that he can still be an impact performer, then there will likely be a few teams in the league interested in trading for him next offseason/year, resulting in Oklahoma City getting the return value they wanted. The best part about trading for Love is that they can essentially get him for nothing right now. 

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The Thunder could essentially trade away a player they do not care to hold onto any longer, as well as potentially a future second-round pick for Kevin Love and a draft pick from the Cavaliers since they will do anything to move him at this point. So, the Thunder could wind up with future assets from Cleveland, as well as potentially gaining more future assets by flipping Love in the future. 

This seems like a win-win-win move for the OKC Thunder and they really do not have anything to lose by acquiring Kevin Love, which is why he is their best option in a trade to get above the salary cap floor for the 2021-22 season.