The New York Knicks are a stubborn bunch.
ESPN’s Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne report on Wednesday that the Knicks continue to pursue Cleveland Cavaliers big man Kevin Love ahead of the trade deadline despite the Cavs’ unwillingness to part ways with him.
Of course, the Knicks are hoping to facilitate a trade of Carmelo Anthony, and Stein also adds that the Cavs maintain interest in acquiring Anthony but only if they can do so without giving up Love.
Cleveland reportedly rejected earlier attempts by the Knicks to engage them in an Anthony-for-Love trade. But perhaps New York thinks they can still find a way to pry away Love, who played under Knicks associate head coach Kurt Rambis in Minnesota, if they sweeten the pot on top of LeBron James’ banana boat brother in Anthony.
But the Cavs seem reluctant to break up a championship core while still in the middle of their title defense as they should be. While Anthony is the superior scorer, Love has the advantage in terms of floor-spacing, rebounding, passing, continuity, and a number of other categories. So try as the Knicks may, it just doesn’t appear likely that they’ll change Cleveland’s mind on this one.
