The Kevin Love/Cavaliers saga in Cleveland treads on. Despite reports to the contrary, the Cavaliers have denied rumors about working towards a buyout with Love. The former all-star has been dissatisfied with his stay on the roster for some time now. However, Love’s massive contract has proven difficult to move.
Given that dilemma, a buyout seems inevitable. Cleveland’s moves this offseason seemingly exemplify their desire to move on. By drafting Evan Mobley, extending Jarrett Allen, and trading for Lauri Markkanen, the Cavaliers frontcourt rotation looks quite full. However, a buyout would further complicate the Cavaliers’ cap issues.
A stretch-and waive deal would keep Love on the Cavaliers payroll for years to come, similarly to JR Smith’s buyout. The problem with that concerns the players Cleveland has yet to pay. Despite going through a rebuild, the Cavaliers have no cap space to speak of, doling out $138M this season. With Collin Sexton and Darius Garland up for extensions soon, they’ll have to find a solution to this issue and fast. Failure to do so may force them to move a key piece of their young core.
Kevin Love with the Cleveland Cavaliers
Though he never played like a superstar there, Kevin Love became a most valuable player for the Cavaliers throughout his stint. Having made the biggest sacrifice to compliment the team, Love took on a reduced role to allow other players to shine. His efforts proved fruitful as he helped Cleveland secure their first-ever NBA title in 2016.
The next two seasons saw him at his best in Cleveland, as displayed by his consecutive all-star appearances in 2017 and 2018. Since then, Kevin Love has yet to reach those levels. Injuries and roster changes left Love in an awkward spot. And due to his dipped production, his contract has become less desirable for potential suitors at the seams.
This all leads towards the situation as it stands today, with a disgruntled player on a hard-capped team that has little room to maneuver. We’ll have to wait to see if they manage to get out from under the issue at hand.
