Veteran Forward and NBA Champion Kevin Love has no desire to discuss a contract buyout as per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. His agent from Excel Sports, Mr. Jeff Schwartz, has told ESPN that the five-time All-Star prefers to see out the rest of his contract with the Cavaliers. According to sources, the Cavaliers have considered trading Love frequently but have yet to come up with a deal that they can execute.
However, Kevin Love himself supports that scenario where he can get traded to have a chance at more minutes on the court. Considering that his minutes with the Cavaliers could be impacted by the arrivals of three substantially younger front-court players in the last year. They are center Jarrett Allen, No. 3 draft pick Evan Mobley, and forward Lauri Markkanen from the Bulls.
“There have been no talks with Cleveland on a buyout, nor is there any interest from Kevin in doing a buyout,” Schwartz told ESPN.
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Five-time All-Star Kevin Love has no interest in discussing a contract buyout on the two-years, $60M left on his Cleveland Cavaliers deal, agent Jeff Schwartz of @excelbasketball tells ESPN. Story: https://t.co/ye4oNqRM2W
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 28, 2021
What should Kevin Love do?
Injuries have hampered Love’s productivity in recent seasons. Love averaged 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in a career-low of 24.9 minutes last season while dealing with a calf injury. A contract buyout would allow the Cavaliers to save money on the remaining portion of his contract, and it would also allow him to sign with another team as a free agent.
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Kevin Love was a member of the 2016 Cavaliers roster that won the NBA Championship. Even though it included legends LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, Love played a crucial role in that roster. He averaged 16 points and almost 10 rebounds per game in the regular season. Moreover, he added 14 points and almost 9 rebounds per game in the playoffs.
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It would be an ideal choice for Kevin Love to wait to get traded, since a lot of younger teams could utilize his veteran experience on the court and on the bench. However, this decision looks like a gamble, especially considering that waiting two years to become a free agent would mean his prime would be closer to being over. And then he would be in a relatively weaker position to negotiate a better contract for himself in the league.
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However, this decision is not all negative. Since he has shown that he will stay loyal and fight for his minutes on the court. Moreover, a considerable chunk from a $60 million contract is not something he would risk losing either. So albeit a risky decision, Kevin Love looks to have bet the odds on himself by deciding to stay.