NBA 2017 Trade Rumors: Will Cleveland Cavaliers Acquire Carmelo Anthony, Paul George and Ship Out Kevin Love?

By Erik Pineda
Cleveland Cavaliers
J.R. Smith (left) and Kevin Love (right) of the Cleveland Cavaliers Sports Illustrated

Win or lose, the Cleveland Cavaliers will need to implement a roster build up offseason and specifically hunt for a big man to help the team rule the paint and secure the boards. Formidable as they are, the Cavs big three - LeBron James, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson - will require a solid backup center, one who will step in when the situation calls for.

Sure, King James remains on top of his game and is expected to be so for the next few years while Thompson is as reliable as before. The man's mission is to play every basketball game he possibly can and pour his heart out. But prudence dictates a team with the goal to win needs to be prepared at all time.

So the hunt is on for Cleveland and one solid candidate to gun for is Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. George still has a year to go with the Pacers but with the Cavs dispatching them via a sweep recently, he could be mulling over a jump to a championship-caliber and finally earn an NBA ring.

According to CBS Sports, the clock is now ticking for George's imminent transfer to "a better team." When asked about the likelihood of leaving the Pacers, the star player made clear that top on his list is to stay with Indiana provided the team will evolve into a stronger title contender for Season 2017-18.

Otherwise, George was reported to considering the options available to him, and one is to head to California and suit up for the Los Angeles Lakers. Other teams are list as well, and foremost is the Boston Celtics that is gradually building up as one of the NBA teams to beat, and more so with the Green Team securing the first round draft pick for next season.

And there is the Cleveland option. The defending champs might be willing to add George on the Cavs roster if their title repeat quest gets frustrated. But that would mean sending Love heartbroken to Indiana, which in the current setting is an unlikely scenario.

Now if Paul George is out of the question as a future Cav, instead Carmelo Anthony could be lured away from the New York Knicks. This is on the cards considering that the Knicks has long declared their intention to invite Love to New York but the idea of sending away the center was earlier dismissed by the Cavs.

King James, however, can make things happen. The Cavs main man, according to FanSided.com, can easily persuade the Cleveland management to get Anthony and let go of Love, painful it may seem.

And in so doing, James is doing everyone a huge favor. Give Anthony a better chance of kissing the NBA championship trophy, for the first time. And pave the way for a historic three-peat for the Cleveland Cavaliers next season, that is if King James will continue leading the Cavs into an unblemished playoff run going to a title showdown this year with the winner of the Golden State Warriors-San Antonio Spurs Western Conference Finals.