Kevin Love lost his rotation spot in Cleveland this month. Now, the Cavs are losing him entirely.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Love are finalizing a contract buyout, sources tell me and @ByJasonLloyd.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 16, 2023
Full details at @TheAthletic, including an Eastern Conference playoff contender expected to emerge as a suitor for Love: https://t.co/oyvrEdjsNe
Love joined the Cavaliers in 2014, after Cleveland traded Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in that year's draft, to bring him in alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. He won a title in 2016, went to the Finals four times and played in two All-Star games during his time in Cleveland, though his scoring and rebounding numbers went down as he took on a more supporting role.
After James left Cleveland for Los Angeles in 2018, Love signed a four-year $120 million extension to stay with the Cavs. Love and the Cavs suffered through three straight bad seasons, and Love often became visibly frustrated with the losing.
Kevin Love just like us when we come back from PTO. Frustrated at work pic.twitter.com/CChZsV0y44
— Wells P (@Wells_P) April 27, 2021
After a year as one of the NBA's best bench players in 2021-22 - Love finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year voting - he fell out of the rotation this year. He hasn't played since Jan. 24.
He is out of the rotation to make room for Dean Wade. There was a conversation between J.B. and Kevin about that recently. Even though it was difficult, it’s what was best. https://t.co/BXVqqtItnl
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) February 6, 2023
Where is he going now? According to The Athletic, the Miami Heat want Love to follow in his old teammate's footsteps and take his talents to South Beach. They have a need for outside shooting and after trading Dewayne Dedmon, there's plenty of backup center minutes available.
With Love's veteran experience and sweet three-point stroke, he should have a number of suitors. Could he consider rejoining James in Los Angeles, where Love went to college at UCLA? The Warriors could use a stretch big man off the bench.
Still, it's a shock that the Kevin Love era is over in Cleveland. It's only right that after Love's years of service, they let him go somewhere he can actually play. The next step is retiring his jersey.
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