After years of speculation, it sounds as if Kevin Love is finally going to be moving on from the Cleveland Cavaliers. It has felt since he signed his extension in the weeks after LeBron James departed to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers that Love has been on the NBA trade block.
Love signed a four-year, $120 million deal with the Cavaliers despite James’ departure, which left a lot of people scratching their heads. No longer in a position to contend, it made no sense why such a lucrative extension was handed out. Alas, after years of rumors of him being on the move, the time has officially come.
According to Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, the Cavaliers and Love are working toward finalizing a contract buyout. Love is in the final season of his contract, which is paying him $28.9 million.
Earlier this season Love battled through a thumb injury that was causing him to be in and out of the lineup. But, in recent weeks, he has seen his role diminished to zero minutes as he has been out of the team’s rotation. The last time that he played was on January 24th against the New York Knicks when he played just over 12 minutes, registering 0 stats outside of one assist and having a plus/minus ratio of -20.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers & Miami Heat Updates
That is certainly a lowlight to end his Cavaliers career, where he has spent nine out of the 15 seasons in the NBA. Not wanting to keep him glued to the bench, the two sides are working on a buyout so that he can find an opportunity that will present him with more playing time.
According to Charania and Lloyd, that opportunity has already presented itself. Once he clears waivers, they are reporting that Love will be joining the Miami Heat. Miami opened up a roster spot when they traded Dewayne Dedmond to the San Antonio Spurs ahead of the trade deadline in a salary-cap-motivated move.
Love should be able to secure a sizable role as the backup to Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt, providing some much-needed insurance at power forward as well. Despite putting up career-low numbers across the board, he should still be able to provide Miami’s second unit with a boost.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers & Miami Heat Updates
On the season, Love is averaging 8.5 points per game to go with 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 20 minutes. He is making 35.4 percent of his 3-point attempts but shooting an underwhelming 38.9 percent overall from the floor.
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