The Cleveland Cavaliers are finalizing a contract buyout with Kevin Love, releasing the last remaining player from the team’s 2016 championship roster.
Love has spent nine of his 15 NBA seasons with the Cavs, teaming up with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving back in 2014 and winning a championship with that same core in 2016. A five-time All-Star, Love is averaging a career-low 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a game this season while battling through a thumb injury.
In his nine seasons in Cleveland, the 34-year-old Love is averaging 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds a game and is set to earn $28.9 million this season in the final year of a four-year, $120 million deal. With the emergence of guys such as Dean Wade and Cedi Osman to back up Evan Mobley, as well as a seven-game win streak without him in the lineup, Love was recently removed from the Cavaliers’ rotation.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Love are finalizing a contract buyout, sources tell me and @ByJasonLloyd.
Full details at @TheAthletic, including an Eastern Conference playoff contender expected to emerge as a suitor for Love: https://t.co/oyvrEdjsNe
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 16, 2023
The Miami Heat have emerged as a potential landing spot for Love according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd, as they have an open roster spot and are in need of a big man to back up All-Star Bam Adebayo. A career 44% shooter, Love can provide a spark off the bench for a Heat team that ranks 29th in field goal percentage this season.
The Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers have also expressed interest in Love, according to Sam Amico of HoopsWire. Warriors guard Klay Thompson is a childhood friend of Love’s, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Thompson tried to recruit him.
View this post on Instagram
This one is sure to sting for Cavs fans, as Love was beloved by the fanbase both for his on-court leadership and his off-court professionalism. However, in preparation of a new contract, Love wants to show he can still play and Cleveland was not giving him that opportunity.
Where do you think Kevin Love will end up? Let us know by tweeting us @celebsecrets.
