David Blatt Says Kevin Love “Is Not A Max Player Yet”
Once LeBron James made his return back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the pursuit for Kevin Love began almost immediately. Why? LeBron now has first-hand experience playing with a legitimate “Big 3”, and he understands it’s significance. Ultimately acquiring Kevin Love by trading away the Cavaliers’ no. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins was representative of that understanding.
Rookie NBA head coach David Blatt had his job by the time LeBron James came back. The varying degrees of adjustments and chemistry have manifested in a lack of consistency for these Cavaliers, who have lost nine of their last eleven games and went 1-9 without a resting LeBron James. After their 103-84 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, David Blatt had this to say about Love, via Sactown Royalty’s Blake Ellington:
Reporter: “Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love they are two max players, they’re here.” Blatt responds quickly: “Kevin’s not a max player yet.”
— Blake Ellington (@BlakeEllington) January 12, 2015
Love may not be playing to his potential with his new team, but there’s more than enough evidence to validate Kevin Love as a max player. It’s hard to think that Blatt doesn’t appreciate the kind of player that Love is, given his preferred style of play. Maybe he’s looking to motivate more out of Love, or maybe he really hasn’t seen that kind of player on his team.
