After seven years of being in Cleveland, Kevin Love could possibly be on the move this offseason, and the Golden State Warriors are the frontrunners to land the former all-star.
According to Bleacher Report, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle says, “There is growing sentiment around the league that Love will negotiate a buyout with Cleveland and sign a veteran-minimum contract with a contender, with one of the options being the Warriors.”
The five-time all-star and 2016 NBA champion has about 2 years and &60 million left on his contract but the organization might be looking to move him so they have more financial flexibility and can focus more on building around their young core in Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and the others. The Cavs had a similar situation with center Andre Drummond.
The Golden State Warriors have had their eyes on Kevin Love for a while now and it would be a good move for both sides. Love would get to join a playoff-caliber team and the Warriors would get a veteran player at a low price. Just like how Drummond signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and how Blake Griffin signed with the Brooklyn Nets after their buyouts.
Is Kevin Love leaving Cleveland?
It would also be a great move for the Cavaliers as with Love not on the floor they can really start to push the pace of games in favor of their speedy backcourt duo of Garland and Sexton. If Cleveland gets rid of Love who only played 25 games last season they will have much more financial flexibility and have room in the starting lineup for Jarret Allen and possible draft pick Evan Mobley to be on the floor together if they choose to take the young big man with the 3rd overall pick in this year’s NBA draft.
Clearly, something needs to be done to change the current theme in Cleveland which is being a lottery team every year, and moving Kevin Love is something that could be a step in the right direction.
Sending Love off to another team gives not only the Cavs but also Kevin Love so many new opportunities and it is time for them to part ways. If the Cavs don’t decide to buy out Kevin Love it will be interesting to see what they do with him especially if they draft Mobley who has stated he likes to play with another big on the floor. If Mobley is drafted by Cleveland it could cause some coaching issues as it may be a tough decision to decide when and how to play the youngster.