Kevin Love drawing some interest if bought out of contract
Let’s talk more about the Cleveland Cavaliers because why not… they are not going anywhere anytime soon! One of the biggest problems the Cavs have as an organization right now is the fact that Kevin Love is under contract for two more seasons and is owed $60.2M in full.
The Cavaliers are still rebuilding right now and his contract is really hurting them in terms of having available cap space to retain their current young talents. Finding a way to get him off their roster seems to be one of the main goals of this Cavaliers front-office this offseason, but will they actually waive him?
Cleveland is going to have to pay Kevin Love one way or another because right now, no team is going to want to trade for him. Love is now 32-years-old and will be turning 33 in September, which is the main reason no team wants to pay him $30M+ over the next two seasons.
It seems like a buyout agreement is the only way the Cavaliers can ensure Love is off their roster to begin the 2021-22 season, which is why they could just “bite the bullet” and buy him out of his remaining two years on his contract.
If Kevin Love is bought out of his contract, he will definitely be a highly sought after free agent, especially because he would likely be willing to agree to a minimum deal. Cleveland would be paying Love millions of dollars, so Kevin Love could basically go “championship hunting” on a minimum contract should he choose to do so.
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Buyout talks will circulate around Love over the next couple of months, but something to keep an eye on is that Kevin Love is on Team USA in the Olympics this year. While he may not be much of a factor on the court for Team USA, Love is still interacting with guys like Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Draymond Green and Damian Lillard.
The reason this is significant is because the Nets, Wizards, Suns, Warriors and Trail Blazers are all teams that could show interest in Kevin Love if he is bought out of his contract. Tampering is definitely going to occur during the Olympics and there really is nothing the NBA can really do about it!
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All of these guys in the league talk all the time and to expect guys like Durant and Green to keep their mouths shut in terms of talking to Love about joining their teams is preposterous. There are plenty of teams that will be interested in Kevin Love should he be bought out of his contract and he can actually still contribute at a relatively high-level.
Love averaged 12.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and shot 36.5% from three-point range in 25 games this year, but he has averaged 18.0 points and shot 37% from three-point range over the course of his career. Kevin Love is a guy that can be a stretch big man for any team in the league and absolutely be a factor for any playoff contending team.
Whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers will buy him out of his contract though remains one of the biggest questions of this offseason. They do not want to pay him all of this money, but no team is even willing to offer a second-round pick for him. It seems very likely that Love will not be on the Cavaliers’ roster to begin the 2021-22 season at this point in time.
