Kevin Love faces an interesting dilemma this offseason. Unlike his teammate LeBron James, who opted out earlier today, Love isn’t all but certain to return to Cleveland. Love isn’t as dedicated to Cleveland as LeBron is. Love isn’t the hometown hero, and he has teams lining up to sign him, such as the Celtics, Lakers, Suns, possibly Trail Blazers, and the Rockets.
Some of those teams would be great fits for Love. He would be unlikely to immediately compete for a championship on any of them(with the exception of the Rockets), though. In Cleveland, he has the opportunity to compete for a title right now. Last summer, Love showed that he prioritizes competing for a championship over being “the guy” for a team by choosing the Cavaliers over teams like the Celtics. That makes total sense, as he spent the first 6 years of his career in Minnesota, where he was the star, but the team was consistently bad.
After spending a season in Cleveland, Love knows what that’s like, and now he has to decide whether he wants to…
1. Stay in Cleveland with the talents of LeBron and Kyrie Irving, and make another run at a championship there.
2. Go to another team that can’t compete right now, but has a bright future and would allow for Love to be in the limelight, such as the Celtics or Lakers.
3. Go somewhere other than Cleveland where he could still compete. Portland(assuming LaMarcus Aldridge opts out) and Houston both come to mind, but Houston is in more of a win-now situation than Portland. In Houston, Love could play next to James Harden and Dwight Howard.
It sounds like Love is going to go with option 1.
The Cavs are confident they will be able to re-sign Love and have been since they traded for him in August. Though they cannot formally make an offer until Wednesday, the Cavs for months have planned to extend a five-year, maximum contract for Love in excess of $110 million despite his shoulder and back injuries last season.
Love may speak to other teams next week, but there is a growing belief across the league that he will back up statements made throughout the season and return to the Cavs. Several sources close to Love have indicated he is likely to stay in Cleveland.
In my opinion, it makes sense for Love to sign with Cleveland, especially if they’re going to offer him as huge a contract as Windhorst reports despite his injury. However I would love to see him in Houston, where he would be a fantastic fit. He’d definitely be an upgrade over Terrence Jones, and his shooting abilities would pull defenders out of the paint, giving Harden room to attack the rim.
All signs point to Love signing with Cleveland, but it’s not certain yet, and a team like Houston should do all they can to make a run at him, since he would be such an ideal fit.
