Cavaliers not expecting buyout with veteran Kevin Love. Altman believes he can still have a major on-court impact at some point this season, or in the playoffs. There has been internal discussion about Love staying with the organization beyond this season
by RanLearns
21 Comments
I agree tbh. His defense is so bad that he shouldn’t be in the regular rotation.
But in the playoffs there’s always the need for a “Channing Frye Hawks series” performance. And that’s assuming no one gets hurt.
This never made sense — it doesn’t make sense for the Cavs and it definitely does not make sense for Love. There is zero chance he’s take a buyout for less money just to go ride the pine on another team where he has few or no relationships with their roster — Kevin loves this group and is a key piece of our culture and is the only champion and one of few veteran leaders on the roster.
It makes sense to me. He hasn’t been right since the thumb injury. If he can take some time to get right, he could be important down the road in the backup big spot. Right now, Dean is ahead of him on the depth chart, but Kevin was playing really well at the start of the season and I think the falloff in shooting is clearly the injury. If Dean or, god forbid, Evan are injured, Kevin can be a solid backup when healthy.
Love was looking decent to start the season, not at his level last year, but everything took a nosedive after he injured his finger. I don’t work with the team so I’m not sure how much it’s still impacting his game, but from what I understand it seems if he were to take time off to get back to 100%, like he currently is on the bench, then maybe he can eventually provide some shooting down the line this season if his number gets called again. I’m not expecting Sixth man of the year Love like last season, but if he can get back to being somewhat reliable from 3 to finish out the season that would be helpful. Would hate to see his time as a Cavalier end like this, even if the organization is speculating his return.
He’s not gonna get bought out simply because of his veteran prescience and the culture impact. I don’t think we see him on the court again unless we are severely depleted tho. He’s just way too much of a defensive liability
Kevin Love, despite past outbursts, has shown to be a well-adjusted individual of late. With the ups and downs of his Cavaliers tenure, his perspective should be valued as an elder in the locker room similar to Udonis Haslem with the Heat. That said, I prefer Love in a consultant role (similar to Dirk Nowvitzki with the Mavericks) where he can be selectively involved in team operations. He may prefer this too as he can further pursue off-court ventures related to mental health, or more specifically sports psychology.
His relationship to a team that boasts the second-youngest starting five in the NBA is complicated. On one hand, young players may prefer his leadership to that of coaches and executives. For example, in Charles Barkley’s guest appearance on “The Old Man and the Three,” he stresses that young players rely on veteran leadership for everything from dieting to banking; he hints player-player interactions have a more trustworthy air on such things. On the other hand, one may want to remove the “baggage” of yesteryear to allow the next generation to establish their own identity. Moreover, other veterans such as Ricky Rubio are still present.
All that to say absolutely nothing. Koby Altman has been savvy with selecting high-character personalities that foster a positive culture – I trust his judgment, wherever it lies, on Love.
Honestly the best outcome, would love to see him retire this season, us retiring his number and then him staying as a scout or coach
I agree. Aside from Mitchell no one else has significant playoff experience. Love may be put in a spot to contribute and if not, he’s been there which will be critical for guys to lean on in terms of preparation, etc.
Why don’t we give the guy a chance to get healthy before we write him off? Everyone acting like he’s washed when he was a strong contender for 6th man of the year last year
Can you imagine the crowd at a home playoff game after Love drops his 8th 3 of the game. Inject that shit straight into my veins
lol Altman is delusional, Love is washed
Has anyone considered Kevin wants to be a part of what we have going on here? He’s made enough money to where he likely wouldn’t mind staying on as a vet presence with minimal minutes here and there. I don’t know for sure, but who does 🤷♂️
You need to take a look at the big picture. Imagine you are Doncic and you see how well the franchise treats Dirk in his final years, or how they resign Barea for a couple of milions to cut him right after as a gift. Those things may be the final push to make Luka stay while having better options in the future.
If Love wants to leave next seasson, it’s on him, but the team should even give him the chance to stay if it’s his wish. Just offer him a small short contract and enjoy his presence.
Cavs need more vets. I’d love a Udonis Haslam type of vet for the Cavaliers organization.
If Kevin love doesn’t retire a Cav I will eternally be upset
Hell yeah! Keep love!
I am not sure I want him back outside of a Perkins role with the Lakers. He is a hole on defense.
This guy better retire a Cav
He’s the veteran leadership in the locker room who’s been there before. We need that with a team this young.
No point in a buyout at this point when it’s expiring in a few months but hopefully he stays out of the rotation completely. Even if his shot is back it’s not worth having our defense compromised every time he’s on the floor. He should play only if Dean Wade is out.
Earlier this year he was part of the bench that came in an had an awesome boost with cedi offensively. Maybe based on the matchup he can play solid minutes?