Windhorst & Lowe on Kevin Love (Reportedly May Leave Cleveland)

[Eddie20]

Lakers reporter-

Serena Winters @SerenaWinters  ·  22m 22 minutes ago
This morning on @TheHerd, @ESPN_Colin said he talked to his 2 best NBA sources about rumors surrounding Kevin Love leaving CLE. Response: "There is a real feeling even amongst LeBron & others they don't know what he's (Kevin Love) going to do."

Has Cowherd ever broken a story?

Not sure, but is it really so shocking to believe Love would leave the allure of Cleveland?

You mean more like the allure of gets max money while having a legit chance of winning multiples rings over the next 3-4yrs? Yeah it would be very shocking for a player (who had never played a PO till this season) to turn that down

You mean Cleveland is the only one that can offer him max money?

Let's not forget that when our big 3 (KG, Pierce, Allen) came together they collectively said it only worked because they were older and had already experienced individual success. Love is just 26, so to think he'll be happy to be 3rd fiddle/riding coattails behind James and Irving for the next several seasons is a stretch.

Cleveland can offer him more money initially, greater raises, and an extra year.  Love knew where he was going when he went there.  He could have resisted and the trade wouldn't have happened, but he willingly chose to go to Cleveland with James and Irving because he was supposedly tired of losing.  Now he goes to a winning team and he leaves the first chance he gets.  Just doesn't smell right.

Love can sign with another team and then opt out after the second season in order to capitalize on the new CBA, so that renders the extra year Cleveland can give them as moot.

Love chose to play with James and Irving, instead of being in Minnesota, which isn't exactly shocking. However, according to reports, his usage is something that he didn't expect so now he'll be faced with picking between NY, LA, Boston or Cleveland, not between Cleveland and Minnesota.


Destination in terms of being a marquee city: Boston, LA, or NY > Cleveland
Role: Boston, LA, or NY > Cleveland
Money: Boston, LA, or NY = Cleveland
Winning: Boston, LA, or NY < Cleveland

[zubi.anaba]

Yeah but I bet Kevin Love thinks he could be the best player on a good NBA team, too.

I am pretty certain he does, which would be the biggest factor in him moving on.

I guess thats why he consented to be traded to a team with Lebron on it and an upcoming star in Kyrie

whats your point? Use your words instead of eye rolls. I am certain that Lebron thought he could be the best player on a good team, but still joined up with Bosh and Wade. So why did he consent to join the heat? lets hear it bud.

Probably because he had never had team mates remotely on their level his whole career and wanted to win. Not sure what you point is? Lebron had 2 MVPs before joining the Heat! It wasnt even debatable who was the best player on the team. Hey they had chemistry issues 1st year but turns out chemistry cant be developed within 1 yr. They went on 2 win rings and reach 4 finals. Pretty sure Love would take Bosh's 2rings and 4 finals over 4 yrs of putting up stats while barely sniffing PO!

[D.o.s.]

I think an argument could be made that Wade was going to be the alpha dog on that team in year 1, but he fell apart and let LeBron take the reigns (which turned out to be the best thing for them, obviously).

[Eddie20]

Yeah but I bet Kevin Love thinks he could be the best player on a good NBA team, too.

I am pretty certain he does, which would be the biggest factor in him moving on.

I guess thats why he consented to be traded to a team with Lebron on it and an upcoming star in Kyrie

whats your point? Use your words instead of eye rolls. I am certain that Lebron thought he could be the best player on a good team, but still joined up with Bosh and Wade. So why did he consent to join the heat? lets hear it bud.

Probably because he had never had team mates remotely on their level his whole career and wanted to win. Not sure what you point is? Lebron had 2 MVPs before joining the Heat! It wasnt even debatable who was the best player on the team. Hey they had chemistry issues 1st year but turns out chemistry cant be developed within 1 yr. They went on 2 win rings and reach 4 finals. Pretty sure Love would take Bosh's 2rings and 4 finals over 4 yrs of putting up stats while barely sniffing PO!

It's funny that you think Love would think exactly like you would. Opinions vary and so do what someone values. So while you may think winning titles is above it all, perhaps location and being a major piece in winning a title is most important to Love. To be dismissive of all these reports (Woj, Aldridge, Lowe, etc.) simply because you wouldn't do that is not logical. The fact is that Love walking is a very real possibility, whether you would do the same or not isn't a factor.

[zubi.anaba]

I think an argument could be made that Wade was going to be the alpha dog on that team in year 1, but he fell apart and let LeBron take the reigns (which turned out to be the best thing for them, obviously).

Only reason that was the case was because Wade had been with Franchise his whole career and won in 2006. Still the best player on the team was never in doubt but LEbron was willing to take a step back if it meant winning. Turns out that was a bad idea. They learnt from it, Lebron became the alpha dog and they started winning.

Love hadnt sniffed PO his whole career. Surely ppl cant be naive  enough to think he felt he would be the best player on the team

[celticsclay]

Yeah but I bet Kevin Love thinks he could be the best player on a good NBA team, too.

I am pretty certain he does, which would be the biggest factor in him moving on.

I guess thats why he consented to be traded to a team with Lebron on it and an upcoming star in Kyrie

whats your point? Use your words instead of eye rolls. I am certain that Lebron thought he could be the best player on a good team, but still joined up with Bosh and Wade. So why did he consent to join the heat? lets hear it bud.

Probably because he had never had team mates remotely on their level his whole career and wanted to win. Not sure what you point is? Lebron had 2 MVPs before joining the Heat! It wasnt even debatable who was the best player on the team. Hey they had chemistry issues 1st year but turns out chemistry cant be developed within 1 yr. They went on 2 win rings and reach 4 finals. Pretty sure Love would take Bosh's 2rings and 4 finals over 4 yrs of putting up stats while barely sniffing PO!

You act like his choices are to stay in Cleveland or go to the Bobcats. There are only a few teams in the NBA that couldn't find a way to offer him a max contract if he said he wanted to play there. I'm not going to really bother arguing with you on this because you are just saying the same thing over and over again. Meanwhile respected national writers are saying they think he may leave. If you want to have a basketball related talk like:
 1)  how his shot attempts dropped by 6 a game while Kyrie and Lebron stayed the same
 2) The team added jr smith, mosgov and shumpert that play larger roles in the offense since when he joined
3) the team has played very well without him and have thompson requesting a giant contract with Lebron endorsing it.

[D.o.s.]

It's funny that you think Love would think exactly like you would. Opinions vary and so do what someone values. So while you may think winning titles is above it all, perhaps location and being a major piece in winning a title is most important to Love. To be dismissive of all these reports (Woj, Aldridge, Lowe, etc.) simply because you wouldn't do that is not logical. The fact is that Love walking is a very real possibility, whether you would do the same or not isn't a factor.

I've been pessimistic about Love's ability forever, so my position is obviously fairly planted here, but I think Kevin Love being the best player on the floor and winning a title are an either/or binary.

[zubi.anaba]

Yeah but I bet Kevin Love thinks he could be the best player on a good NBA team, too.

I am pretty certain he does, which would be the biggest factor in him moving on.

I guess thats why he consented to be traded to a team with Lebron on it and an upcoming star in Kyrie

whats your point? Use your words instead of eye rolls. I am certain that Lebron thought he could be the best player on a good team, but still joined up with Bosh and Wade. So why did he consent to join the heat? lets hear it bud.

Probably because he had never had team mates remotely on their level his whole career and wanted to win. Not sure what you point is? Lebron had 2 MVPs before joining the Heat! It wasnt even debatable who was the best player on the team. Hey they had chemistry issues 1st year but turns out chemistry cant be developed within 1 yr. They went on 2 win rings and reach 4 finals. Pretty sure Love would take Bosh's 2rings and 4 finals over 4 yrs of putting up stats while barely sniffing PO!

It's funny that you think Love would think exactly like you would. Opinions vary and so do what someone values. So while you may think winning titles is above it all, perhaps location and being a major piece in winning a title is most important to Love. To be dismissive of all these reports (Woj, Aldridge, Lowe, etc.) simply because you wouldn't do that is not logical. The fact is that Love walking is a very real possibility, whether you would do the same or not isn't a factor.

Am dismissing of all the reports because thats exactly what media is all about in this day and age. Put on report for clicks. Taking things completely out of context for a headline. Plus it goes against what the player himself has been saying. LMA for example has never definitively said he would stay in Portland. Its always," I am not thinking about that now" or "I am not ready to talk about that'!! Same with Marc Gasol!! Klove has categorically said many times he intends to stay there. If he was tip toeing around it like LMA the yes maybe the reports would have some meaning. Of course media will never plaster "Klove wants to stay"  all over their website because it doesnt get clicks.

Add to the fact that this a player that wants to win (said that tons of times too) so logically I dont see why he is dying to leave that team. Oh well.

[celticsclay]

It's funny that you think Love would think exactly like you would. Opinions vary and so do what someone values. So while you may think winning titles is above it all, perhaps location and being a major piece in winning a title is most important to Love. To be dismissive of all these reports (Woj, Aldridge, Lowe, etc.) simply because you wouldn't do that is not logical. The fact is that Love walking is a very real possibility, whether you would do the same or not isn't a factor.

I've been pessimistic about Love's ability forever, so my position is obviously fairly planted here, but I think Kevin Love being the best player on the floor and winning a title are an either/or binary.

It's funny that you think Love would think exactly like you would. Opinions vary and so do what someone values. So while you may think winning titles is above it all, perhaps location and being a major piece in winning a title is most important to Love. To be dismissive of all these reports (Woj, Aldridge, Lowe, etc.) simply because you wouldn't do that is not logical. The fact is that Love walking is a very real possibility, whether you would do the same or not isn't a factor.

I've been pessimistic about Love's ability forever, so my position is obviously fairly planted here, but I think Kevin Love being the best player on the floor and winning a title are an either/or binary.

I think this is becoming a bit of a straw man argument. I think next to nobody thinks that Love could be the best player on a title winning team. However, I do think (and I personally believe) he could be the second best player on the right team. I also think he can be taking more than 12 shots a game on a championship level team. There is a huge middle ground between what he could be doing on a championship level team and what he is doing on this Cleveland team.

Heck for humors sake lets invent a magical world where Durant is traded from the Thunder for a large exception and Love is signed and everything else stays the same. Isn't a team with Westbrook, Augstine, Ibaka, Kanter,  Love, Adams, Waiters a very serious contender in the West next year? Isn't he clearly the second best player on that team? Wouldn't he get more than 12 shots a game? Heck Ibaka got that many shot attempts the last two years playing with Durant and Westbrook. I don't really know what those situations are around the NBA for next season, but there are definitely certain teams that could contend with Love is the second best player and there are also a lot of teams he could get more than 12 shot attempts on.

[zubi.anaba]

Yeah but I bet Kevin Love thinks he could be the best player on a good NBA team, too.

I am pretty certain he does, which would be the biggest factor in him moving on.

I guess thats why he consented to be traded to a team with Lebron on it and an upcoming star in Kyrie

whats your point? Use your words instead of eye rolls. I am certain that Lebron thought he could be the best player on a good team, but still joined up with Bosh and Wade. So why did he consent to join the heat? lets hear it bud.

Probably because he had never had team mates remotely on their level his whole career and wanted to win. Not sure what you point is? Lebron had 2 MVPs before joining the Heat! It wasnt even debatable who was the best player on the team. Hey they had chemistry issues 1st year but turns out chemistry cant be developed within 1 yr. They went on 2 win rings and reach 4 finals. Pretty sure Love would take Bosh's 2rings and 4 finals over 4 yrs of putting up stats while barely sniffing PO!

You act like his choices are to stay in Cleveland or go to the Bobcats. There are only a few teams in the NBA that couldn't find a way to offer him a max contract if he said he wanted to play there. I'm not going to really bother arguing with you on this because you are just saying the same thing over and over again. Meanwhile respected national writers are saying they think he may leave. If you want to have a basketball related talk like:
 1)  how his shot attempts dropped by 6 a game while Kyrie and Lebron stayed the same

1st year chemistry. Going from number option to number 2/3

2) The team added jr smith, mosgov and shumpert that play larger roles in the offense since when he joined

No they dont. Team just has more weapons to better their offense. Jr takes open jumpers to space the floor. Shump defends and shoots if he gets the ball. Mosgov protects the rim and gets bunnies/putbacks. Not sure what your point is here. If anything these players help Love becasue Mosgov can cover for him on D, Same with Shump and Jr spaces the floor

3) the team has played very well without him and have thompson requesting a giant contract with Lebron endorsing it.

Not sure what this has to do with Love either. Incase you didnt know Love and TT played most of the crunch time minutes for the Cavs this season. Surely watched the Cavs Cs series and saw Love make 2 clutch 3s  in game 3 with TT crashing the offensive boards on the floor. They compliment each other pretty well. TT getting a big contract doesnt affect Love in anyway shape or form

[D.o.s.]

@Clay: That's entirely true. I think Love is an massive overpay for a stretch 4, which is (I assume) how Cleveland expects to use him in the near future, particularly with Thompson's coming out party happening when the lights are brightest.

But I think Love will want more money than any championship contender can offer him, and may wind up signing with a Sacto or similar... but there's no guarantee he'll be in a better situation (basketball or title contention) than he is in Cleveland.

[celticsclay]

Yeah but I bet Kevin Love thinks he could be the best player on a good NBA team, too.

I am pretty certain he does, which would be the biggest factor in him moving on.

I guess thats why he consented to be traded to a team with Lebron on it and an upcoming star in Kyrie

whats your point? Use your words instead of eye rolls. I am certain that Lebron thought he could be the best player on a good team, but still joined up with Bosh and Wade. So why did he consent to join the heat? lets hear it bud.

Probably because he had never had team mates remotely on their level his whole career and wanted to win. Not sure what you point is? Lebron had 2 MVPs before joining the Heat! It wasnt even debatable who was the best player on the team. Hey they had chemistry issues 1st year but turns out chemistry cant be developed within 1 yr. They went on 2 win rings and reach 4 finals. Pretty sure Love would take Bosh's 2rings and 4 finals over 4 yrs of putting up stats while barely sniffing PO!

You act like his choices are to stay in Cleveland or go to the Bobcats. There are only a few teams in the NBA that couldn't find a way to offer him a max contract if he said he wanted to play there. I'm not going to really bother arguing with you on this because you are just saying the same thing over and over again. Meanwhile respected national writers are saying they think he may leave. If you want to have a basketball related talk like:
 1)  how his shot attempts dropped by 6 a game while Kyrie and Lebron stayed the same

1st year chemistry. Going from number option to number 2/3

2) The team added jr smith, mosgov and shumpert that play larger roles in the offense since when he joined

No they dont. Team just has more weapons to better their offense. . Jr takes open jumpers to space the floor Shump defends and shoots if he gets the ball. Mosgov protects the rim and gets bunnies/putbacks. Not sure what your point is here. If anything these players help Love becasue Mosgov can cover for him on D, Same with Shump and Jr spaces the floor

3) the team has played very well without him and have thompson requesting a giant contract with Lebron endorsing it.

Not sure what this has to do with Love either. Incase you didnt know Love and TT played most of the crunch time minutes for the Cavs this season. Surely watched the Cavs Cs series and saw Love make 2 clutch 3s  in game 3 with TT crashing the offensive boards on the floor. They compliment each other pretty well. TT getting a big contract doesnt affect Love in anyway shape or form

Seriously? Jr Smith takes open jumpers? You are literally the first person in the world to describe his game that way. That includes Jr himself who said he prefers to shoot contested shots.

As for TT and Love and their contracts not being related, I don't get how that is a serious argument. If you have the 3 of them, Mosgov, TT and Love, one of them has to come off the bench. I don't see either Love or TT coming off the bench at 14 or 20 million a year. If you are a player like Iggy that is north of 30, you can consider coming off the bench to win a chip. If you are 26 or 24 like TT and Love you don't do that smack dab in the middle of your career while getting 15+ mill a year. Their contracts and presence on the team as starting power forwards are definitely related.

[celticsclay]

@Clay: That's entirely true. I think Love is an massive overpay for a stretch 4, which is (I assume) how Cleveland expects to use him in the near future, particularly with Thompson's coming out party happening when the lights are brightest.

But I think Love will want more money than any championship contender can offer him, and may wind up signing with a Sacto or similar... but there's no guarantee he'll be in a better situation (basketball or title contention) than he is in Cleveland.

I can understand why people would laugh this off based on the team history, but is a team with Cousins, Love, Collison, Gay, Mclememore a top 10 pick in this draft and some serviceable free agents signings truly that bad? 

[colincb]

A) If KLove leaves, it'll probably be for the money.  If Cavs win Obie without KLove, there's not much incentive for them to max him and he knows it.  If they are able to get close without Kyrie and him, same thing.

B)  It's clear that KLove was a distant third wheel on Cavs. The vibe was also strange with the King. Chemistry wasn't right (see 2008 Cs for for example of good chemistry in putting together a team of many new pieces).  Probably didn't help that Blatt was an NBA rookie.

C) An injury will make you think about your next contract.  That favors getting a long deal now rather than later for more.  There's risk to be factored in.

D)  At first, I thought Love leaving was a long shot, but given A, B, and C above, I'm starting to think it's a lot closer to 50/50 than before, and becomes more likely if the Cavs get close to the Obie against GSW.

E) There's no reason Love can't be the best player on a championship team.  last year's champs weren't loaded with superstars , the Cs in the 70's, Piston dynasties 80s and 00s' , etc.  The idea that there is but one way to do anything is usually wrong unless it's your wife's idea.

F) Doesn't mean he comes here though, but the Lakers are far from a sure thing even for the playoffs next season, never mind long-term even if he signed there. I'm sure other team will come-a-courtin with half the league having substantial cap space.

[zubi.anaba]

Yeah but I bet Kevin Love thinks he could be the best player on a good NBA team, too.

I am pretty certain he does, which would be the biggest factor in him moving on.

I guess thats why he consented to be traded to a team with Lebron on it and an upcoming star in Kyrie

whats your point? Use your words instead of eye rolls. I am certain that Lebron thought he could be the best player on a good team, but still joined up with Bosh and Wade. So why did he consent to join the heat? lets hear it bud.

Probably because he had never had team mates remotely on their level his whole career and wanted to win. Not sure what you point is? Lebron had 2 MVPs before joining the Heat! It wasnt even debatable who was the best player on the team. Hey they had chemistry issues 1st year but turns out chemistry cant be developed within 1 yr. They went on 2 win rings and reach 4 finals. Pretty sure Love would take Bosh's 2rings and 4 finals over 4 yrs of putting up stats while barely sniffing PO!

You act like his choices are to stay in Cleveland or go to the Bobcats. There are only a few teams in the NBA that couldn't find a way to offer him a max contract if he said he wanted to play there. I'm not going to really bother arguing with you on this because you are just saying the same thing over and over again. Meanwhile respected national writers are saying they think he may leave. If you want to have a basketball related talk like:
 1)  how his shot attempts dropped by 6 a game while Kyrie and Lebron stayed the same

1st year chemistry. Going from number option to number 2/3

2) The team added jr smith, mosgov and shumpert that play larger roles in the offense since when he joined

No they dont. Team just has more weapons to better their offense. . Jr takes open jumpers to space the floor Shump defends and shoots if he gets the ball. Mosgov protects the rim and gets bunnies/putbacks. Not sure what your point is here. If anything these players help Love becasue Mosgov can cover for him on D, Same with Shump and Jr spaces the floor

3) the team has played very well without him and have thompson requesting a giant contract with Lebron endorsing it.

Not sure what this has to do with Love either. Incase you didnt know Love and TT played most of the crunch time minutes for the Cavs this season. Surely watched the Cavs Cs series and saw Love make 2 clutch 3s  in game 3 with TT crashing the offensive boards on the floor. They compliment each other pretty well. TT getting a big contract doesnt affect Love in anyway shape or form

Seriously? Jr Smith takes open jumpers? You are literally the first person in the world to describe his game that way. That includes Jr himself who said he prefers to shoot contested shots.

He shoots 3s! He spaces the floor. That was he does. Thats what he is ever going to do. I have no idea how that cant be a positive for Love given he gets more space to work when he posts up. Same for the rest of the team

As for TT and Love and their contracts not being related, I don't get how that is a serious argument. If you have the 3 of them, Mosgov, TT and Love, one of them has to come off the bench. I don't see either Love or TT coming off the bench at 14 or 20 million a year. If you are a player like Iggy that is north of 30, you can consider coming off the bench to win a chip. If you are 26 or 24 like TT and Love you don't do that smack dab in the middle of your career while getting 15+ mill a year. Their contracts and presence on the team as starting power forwards are definitely related.

TT came of the bench this season. Not sure why that will change next season just because he playing well in the playoffs. He is a role player and knows his role. HE is gonna make some coin this offseason. Thats all he will care about. He will still play 30+mins. He will stay play in crunch time with LOve. Whether it is smart for cavs to have an 11mil player on the bench is a completely diff issue. But again the player knows his role.

And am sure Lebron wants both LOve and TT to stay and will convince TT to come of the bench  if there is any doubt (higly unlikely). Afterall Lebron pretty just made TT a bunch of money by being in Cavs because he def wouldnt be commanding such salary of Lebron wasnt around. You really are trying to manufacture something out of nothin! Just like the media! Oh well