Cavaliers want Kevin Love back, but should they?
It’s questionable as to whether or not the Cavaliers should keep Kevin Love if LeBron James comes back next season. If James goes, Love should too.
No NBA team faces as much uncertainty this summer as the Cleveland Cavaliers. If LeBron James elects to stay with the team they are title contenders. If he leaves, the franchise faces an ugly rebuild. Evidently, the team has interest in keeping Kevin Love in either scenario.
Even Love sounded very unsure of his future when he spoke to the media during this year’s NBA Finals. He admitted that “anything” was possible in the event of a Cavaliers loss to Golden State. The talented big man openly admits that he’d like to play with LeBron for the rest his career, but he knows that choice is up to James.
The real surprise in all of this is the recent revelation that Cleveland wants to hold onto Love next season no matter what happens. That’s a poor decision for Koby Altman to make without knowing what LeBron plans to do. If he bolts in free agency, there’s zero reason for the Cavaliers to hold on to Love.
Perhaps things would be different if the sweet-shooting big man was in his prime. Given his age (30) and lengthy injury history, it’s highly unlikely Love is going to improve as time goes on. It’s much more likely that his performance on the court is going to continue to slip. The only real question is how long he can continue to produce as an above-average starter.
The way the league currently seems to be headed also will almost certainly make Love a less effective player as time goes on. He’s an extremely skilled player on the offensive end, but his defense becomes a serious liability in the playoffs. He lacks the size to serve as a rim protector at center or the quick feet to switch and guard smaller players on the perimeter. The Warriors did everything they could to get him switched onto Steph Curry during the Finals. The results were generally poor for the Cavs.
This summer might be Cleveland’s last chance to sell relatively high on Love as a player. Despite his shortcomings, plenty of teams trying to make it into the playoffs would be interested in his services. Altman and company aren’t going to get a massive haul for him, but it’s possible they could acquire a starter who’s better suited to compete against title contenders like the Warriors and Celtics.
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If LeBron returns to Cleveland, then keeping Kevin Love is a reasonable thing to do. If James bolts, the Cavaliers need to engage in a complete and total rebuild. Hanging on to a 30-year-old Love seems like a foolish decision under those circumstances.