Earlier today, it was announced that the Cavs and Kevin Love had agreed to a 4-year, $120 million extension to keep Love in Cleveland for the long term. Read below for the implications of this signing.
A 3X All Star in his six seasons in Minnesota, and two seasons of scoring 26+ pts, Love was a beast there. He averaged 11 or more rebounds in his final five years there. And then he was traded to Cleveland for Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. Love has averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game over the past four years in Cleveland. And now he’s staying long term.
The reason for Love’s productivity being down, is that he was the third option for his first three years. Kyrie Irving and LeBron usurped him as the go-to playmakers on the team with Love having to frequent playing outside the arc. Once Kyrie left last year, we saw flashes of elite Kevin Love, where he’d go through a stretch of a few minutes where he could not miss. His defense has improved over the course of his time in Cleveland, as his confidence playing within the system. Now, with LeBron bolting for LA, it is Love’s team.
This is the right move for both sides. The Cavs need to lock up their star, and Love will get the chance to be a #1 option again. After drafting Collin Sexton, the Cavs also have their dynamic duo of the future.
As mentioned above, Love was fantastic in Minnesota while serving as the number one option for that team. In his final season before being dealt to the Cavs, he averaged 26 points per game, 12.5 rebounds per game, and career-best 4.4 assists per game. He was putting up massive numbers on the nightly and was one of FEW guys in the league capable of a 30-point, 30-rebound game on any given night. He was aggressive on the glass and scored in a variety of different ways.
The expectations for Love to perform at a Superstar level are extremely high, now that he will be the featured player for this offense. A Kevin-Love team has never made the postseason, let alone have a winning record. The Cavs are very lucky to be in the East, however, as there are a few teams clearly perched at the top, but the middle is very even. It’s hard to look at the East and believe eight teams are better than this group.
This is going to be the year that Love can carry a team to the postseason while not serving as a ‘role’ player. Along with Collin Sexton, Love is going to take this team to that level. This is a winning move for Cleveland, keeping him around for the long term. Well done.
Stat projections:
35.0 minutes per game
24.5 points per game
13.1 rebounds per game
2.4 assists per game
46% field goal percentage
37% three point percentage
84% free throw percentage
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