Should The Cleveland Cavaliers have seller’s remorse on Kevin Love? Yes, they should. Love could have brought everything the Cavaliers needed in their first-round playoff loss. Shooting, spacing, bench scoring, rebounding, and leadership. Kevin Love has all of those things. The 2016 NBA Champion could have helped the Cavs in a non-competitive five-game first round.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Love agreed to a contract buy-out after Love fell out of Cleveland’s rotation. Love then signed with the Miami Heat who he is helping compete for a championship in the 2023 NBA Finals. Kevin was plagued by injuries in his final season with Cleveland. According to Cleveland.com, in Love’s last 15 games as a Cavalier, he shot a rough 30% from the field and 24% from three.
Cleveland’s Struggles
The Cavaliers would make the playoffs as the four seed in the east. They would match up against a hungry New York Knicks team that would prove to want it more than Cleveland. The Cavs looked lost and there was no leadership to be found. Not from Mitchell, Garland, Allen, or Mobley. The leadership they could have gotten from Kevin Love was nowhere to be found. Kevin is now helping to lead the Heat to a possible championship.
The Cavaliers feared what would happen if they did not honor Love’s request so they did what they thought was best for both sides. That has turned out great for Kevin Love. A change of scenery has given Love new life as a player. Kevin Love has made the NBA Finals every time he has made the playoffs. Five playoff appearances and five NBA Finals appearances. Kevin Love knows what it takes to win at the highest level and that is something you can not teach.
Better Then How It Looks?
It looks worse in Cleveland due to their complete implosion. Dean Wade, the man the Cleveland Cavaliers picked over Kevin Love completely disappeared. Alongside How good the Miami Heat played all postseason Cleveland has a very sour taste in their mouths still.
With that being said, Cleveland is a very young team. Their window just opened. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the opportunity to be a good team for a long time. Was it a Mistake pulling the plug on Kevin Love? Yes, but they can still bounce back next season. Every great team faces adversity and makes mistakes. It is how they handle that adversity and grow from those mistakes that makes them great.
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