Kevin Love ‘s stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers may soon come to an end after reports circulated that the team is now willing to listen to trade offers for the All-Star power forward. In the past months, Love has already been linked to several NBA teams who need additional star power to become more competitive or a veteran superstar to lead their young core. However, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic , if Love would be the one to decide, he wanted to be traded to an NBA team who has a legitimate chance of contending for the NBA championship title in the 2019-20 NBA season.
“Cavaliers forward Kevin Love prefers a move to a contending team, league sources tell The Athletic,” Charania wrote, as quoted by Yahoo Sports .
From the time he signed a massive contract extension, Love has said on numerous occasions that he’s willing to be part of whatever plans the Cavaliers have in the post-LeBron James era. When James left in the summer of 2018, the Cavaliers named Love as the new face of the franchise. However, since that day, the Cavaliers haven’t made any major moves to give Love the help he needs to carry the team back to title contention.
Instead of surrounding him with quality veterans, the Cavaliers continue to collect young players who could be part of their long-term future. With the Cavaliers bound to suffer another huge disappointment in the 2019-20 NBA season, it’s easy to understand why Love’s stance about being part of Cleveland’s rebuilding plans has changed. In an interview with Tim Bontemps of ESPN , Love admitted that he’s frustrated with the Cavaliers’ current situation.
“It’s tough to go from that level, and really playing for something, to this,” Love said.
“I think that’s natural, to be really frustrated. I’m in my 12th year. I’m the oldest guy on the team at 31. I’m the vet, I still feel great… [but] it’s just different, not feeling that for a while, and expecting things to go different.”
As of now, most people would definitely love to see Love spending his prime playing for a legitimate title contender than on a rebuilding team like the Cavaliers. Love may not be as dominant as LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Paul George, but he’s capable of turning an average playoff team to a legitimate title contender. Some of the NBA teams who could express a strong interest in acquiring Love before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline include the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and the Utah Jazz.
