Kevin Love said all the right things at Cleveland Cavaliers’ Media Day on Monday.
The 33-year-old, who has two years, $60 million left on his contract, is the elder statesman for these young Cavaliers. The longest tenured Cav will be called on to be a veteran leader for the team this season.
During the summer, there were rumors that Cleveland and Love were discussing a buyout. However, according to Love, that’s not the case.
“The buyout had never even come up,” Love said. “I think that’s speculation. Sometimes s*** is thrown against the wall, and people are seeing who’s going to read it and who’s going to see it. For me, that’s never been a thing. I’m still sitting here Year 14 as a Cav.
Coming into the season, if the 14-year veteran sticks around, he will probably be coming off the bench, which will be a different role for him. Despite the new role, Love hopes to a be positive force for Cleveland.
“Listen, it’s a young team; this is obviously where this is headed and where this is going,” he said. “But what I’m going to try to be, like I told Koby (Altman) and J.B. (Bickerstaff), is a positive force. Wherever this ends up, I just want to make sure that at least internally in here when we walk into this building, that’s positive.”
Ideally, the Cavs would like to trade Love, who missed most of the 2020-21 NBA season and the Olympics due to a calf injury. However, outside of a buyout, which is probably in the best interest of all parties involved, Cleveland will have to make things work with Love.
With the additions of Lauri Markkanen and Evan Mobley, there may not be much playing time for Love. However, a lot can happen between now and the start of the NBA season.
Watch below as Love talks not wanting a buyout, the upcoming 2021-22 season, and more:
