Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love to return from injury in January?

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is expected to return from injury after the new year; where will the team be at that point?

Kevin Love is expected to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers lineup in January, but would it be too late to save the team from the worst record in the NBA? Probably. But Love returning to the team could have other repercussions.

First things first, how’s Love coming along? According to Love, he’s still more than a month away from returning to action.

"[via ESPN]"

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"“There’s just no telling at this time with the weight-bearing injury what it is going to be like moving forward, but I expect to be back sometime after the new year,” he said."

There’s a huge elephant in the room here, though. Will Love still be on the team when he returns to the floor, especially if it’s close to the NBA Trade Deadline? The Cavs are nowhere near close to a level of completing, and could actually be better off if they traded away their veterans with value.

Just like they’re going to do with J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver over the next few weeks. The thing with Love, though is that they probably need him to play in order for him to rebuild his trade value.

If you remember, Love’s value dropped a bit over the last two seasons. He didn’t look great at all times playing next to LeBron James and that showed. He still got the extension over the offseason, though, which was smart because it gave Cleveland an asset that they didn’t have.

When will they use the asset? Now? They could, especially if they want to make sure they finish the regular season with the worst record in the NBA in an attempt to secure the top pick in an absolutely loaded NBA Draft.

Help is coming for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but don’t be surprised if Love’s return is a brief one.