Kevin Love has opted out of his contract, and teams are lining up to pursue him. The Celtics are first in line. They reportedly plan to convince Love to join them by baiting him with Robin Lopez and Paul Pierce.
The Lakers and Trail Blazers also plan to pursue Love. From ESPN’s Marc Stein:
Sources tell ESPN.com that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Celtics are among the teams planning to make a run at Love in free agency. Sources say that the Portland Trail Blazers, furthermore, are likely to pursue the former Oregon high school star in the event that LaMarcus Aldridge — as many league executives expect — flees the Blazers in free agency.
The Blazers are an interesting option for Love. Love grew up in Portland, and he would be able to pair up with Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nic Batum, and Robin Lopez(assuming they all remain on the roster).
One more team interested in Love’s services is the Phoenix Suns. From Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski:
Opt-out sets up Love to sign extension w/ Cavs, but teams want crack at pitching him. Another suitor promising to be aggressive: Phoenix.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 24, 2015
So, we have the Celtics, Lakers, Suns, and Blazers all planning to aggressively pursue Love. The frontrunner to land Love? Still Cleveland, per Wojnarowski:
Cleveland remains the frontrunner to sign Love to a five-year, $100M-plus extension, but Love could be willing to hear out Celtics, Lakers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 24, 2015
So, odds are Love will remain a Cavalier. But it really wouldn’t come as a surprise to most if he were to ditch Cleveland. As Wojnaroswki reported, he will hear out Boston and L.A., which is a good sign for those two teams. I also would imagine he would listen to the Blazers given their strong roster and hometown ties to Love, but their pursuit of him depends on whether or not LaMarcus Aldridge leaves. I don’t much like the Suns chances here; I feel that they’re the odd team out.
Free agency is almost upon us. NBA fans will be holding their breaths with anticipation to see where Love decides to play out the 2015-2016 season.
