Kevin Love’s stint in Cleveland is just a few hours away. According to Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd, journalists from The Athleticthe power forward is negotiating a buyout with the Cavaliers that allows him to become a free agent, an agreement that they comment that both parties are about to reach.
Love will therefore put an end to his almost nine-year period in Ohio, where he arrived in 2014 to form a big three along with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. As the third sword, he was very important in the success of those Cavaliers and helped them get the only ring in their history, but once his two companions left the team, he began to fit less and less into a young squad in full reconstruction. Although during the 21-22 academic year Bickerstaff found him a place as the sixth man and once again felt important in a winning team, this season both his role and his performance have declined again, so that both parties have considered that his departure was the Better option.
With 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game behind him, Kevin will now be able to look for a new team to join. Charania and Lloyd point to the Miami Heat as one of the first suitors, but it is to be expected that there will be more interested in a veteran player, with Finals experience and with a talent that, even diminished, continues to have a lot to say. The Cavs, for their part, will be able to use the vacated roster hole to sign another free agent they feel is a better fit for their system.
At the salary level, Love was in his last year of contract with a salary of 28.9 million dollars, of which he will presumably forgive a part to facilitate the buyout.
(Cover photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
