NBA Rumors: Kevin Love doesn’t want to play for Cleveland Cavaliers
By Chris Walder
The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of several teams interested in acquiring the services of All-Star power forward Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves. While they certainly have the assets to entice Minnesota in a potential trade, the disgruntled star may not be overly welcoming if he headed to their neck of the woods.
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Jackie MacMullen of ESPNBoston.com reports that while the Cavaliers have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft to help get the wheels in motion, Love has zero interest in playing for Cleveland should a trade come to fruition.
As Dan Feldman of NBC Sports makes note of in his latest column, Love is under contract to Minnesota next season with no option. If the Cavaliers acquired him, he could easily walk at the end of the year and leave the franchise with no compensation.
The team traded for Luol Deng during the regular season and it looks like he won’t be in a Cavs uniform in 2014-15. Does management really want to go down that road again with Love?
What Love can do is opt in to his deal under the condition that he gets traded to a team he wants to play for. That way, buyers won’t be nearly as hesitant to make a move because they won’t have the worry of Love walking when his deal expires.
Love averaged a double-double of 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds in 2013-14. Pairing him with the likes of Kyrie Irving in Cleveland could make the Cavaliers a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference, but unless his attitude on the team changes, we’ll probably never see that happen.