The Cleveland Cavaliers have surprised many by their unwillingness to part with All-Star big man Kevin Love.
In the initial stages of a rebuild, it doesn’t seem like the 30-year-old Love fits in long-term with the team.
Now that the NBA free-agent market has died down, it would not be a surprise to see Love on the move ahead of next season. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, that might actually be inevitable.
“Love and the team knew when he signed the deal that there was a good chance he wouldn’t finish it in Cleveland, and a trade may be inevitable at some point,” Windhorst reported.
Love missed all but 22 games last season to injury. This came mere months after he signed a four-year, $120 million max deal with Cleveland.
Despite that, Love appears to be 100 percent healthy and will play for Team USA in the World Cup in China this summer.
One of the first true stretch forwards of this era, Love has averaged 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds on 38 percent shooting from distance in five seasons with the Cavaliers.
Any trade would be rather difficult given Love’s contract. Cleveland would also want assets back while making the contracts match.