Love opts out!

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/6/24/8840507/lebron-james-wont-recruit-kevin-love-back-to-cleveland-per-report



LeBron James won't recruit Kevin Love back to Cleveland, per report
By Ricky O'Donnell  @SBN_Ricky on Jun 24, 2015, 4:32p 88


Is Kevin Love about to FIT OUT with the Cavs?


Kevin Love opted out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday morning, setting off rampant speculation around the league over whether the 26-year-old power forward will change teams this summer. Love's list of suitors reportedly includes the Celtics, Lakers, Suns and potentially the Trail Blazers, but Cleveland still holds the option of offering the biggest contract.

The Cavs can extend a five-year, $100 million contract to Love if they chose to, but it would likely result in a massive luxury bill for owner Dan Gilbert. What's even more interesting is that, according to Cavs beat writer Chris Haynes, LeBron James doesn't plan on recruiting Love back to the Cavs.

Chris Haynes ✔@ChrisBHaynes
LeBron James won't be re-recruiting Kevin Love, I'm told. He believes Love understands he can be a part of something special. It's his call.
12:15 PM - 24 Jun 2015
  757 757 Retweets  370 370 favorites


Of course, that isn't to imply LeBron wouldn't welcome Love back. Still, the relationship between Love and James showed points of contention throughout the season. Read into LeBron's refusal to recruit Love as you want.


LeBron James ✔@KingJames
Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN. Be apart of something special! Just my thoughts
8:37 PM - 7 Feb 2015
  5,585 5,585 Retweets  7,562 7,562 favorites


Why it might matter

Does this ring a bell?


James tweeted this after the Cavaliers had won 13 of their last 14 games. After he was pressed on the subject, James acknowledged that it had been a thinly veiled criticism of Love.

The insinuation from James was that Love wasn't bonding with the rest of the team. Love said he was confused by James' accusation, but the next few weeks would add fuel to the fire.

There was that team photo LeBron posted on Instagram that didn't include Kevin Love. There was also Love saying he thought his former UCLA teammate Russell Westbrook was the MVP of the league, and not James. Love admitted he and James weren't best friends. There were reports that James was "frustrated" by his relationship with Love.

If you subscribe to the old adage that where there's smoke, there's usually fire, perhaps Kevin Love and LeBron James really don't have much of a personal relationship left. Would that be enough to push him out of Cleveland?

Why it might not matter

At the end of the day, free agency usually comes down to two things: money and winning. With the Cavs, Love would be going back to a team that came within two victories of the 2015 championship. He would also be taking the most guaranteed money available to him.

The Celtics are going after Love hard, but would he really leave James and Kyrie Irving to join a plan based around Robin Lopez and 37-year-old Paul Pierce? The Lakers are interested too, but would Love even be able to make the playoffs with that team in the brutal Western Conference?

If it's about money and winning, Cleveland makes the most sense. More often than not, that's the logic NBA players use when making a decision as big as this one.



bob


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sam wrote:Lopez would be an interesting addition regardless of whither Love.  But I'm still trying to figure out what the added attraction of Pierce would bring to the table from the perspective of Love.  Someone he could beat down the floor?  Someone to hone Love's help defense abilities?  Forgetting nostalgia, what's the big deal?

Sam

sam,

He's a late game assassin. He proved he "still got it" during these playoffs. In crunch time, offenses slow down. It's the end of the game and players are a little tired, defenses hunker down for their last stands and easy points are harder to get. Having someone who can hit big shots or get to the line, like IT did for us last year, is a big deal. Kobe, MJ, Durant, Wade, LBJ. They've won TONS of games because their individual skills reduce the likelihood of ending up with an empty possession. As we saw in the Finals, running that scheme all game every game isn't necessarily very effective, but for a couple of possessions late in the 4th quarter when you have to have some points one way or another? Despite IT's overall shooting percentage being execrable (41%) he shot 48% in clutch and 82% from the line. That's a player you want on the court in crunch time.

My concern with Pierce isn't that he's old or even that he can't keep up with Brad's uptempo system, it's that he's going to want to be "the man" again, like in the Good Old Days, and not a mentor and role player; his role being to come in and break the other team's momentum and hit clutch shots. Pierce, on this team, would be a more proven NBA veteran than Gigi (although Pierce's defense is still, at 37, better than Gigi's).

I have to admit, the thought of Pierce and Turner on the floor is somewhat appealing. Turner with the ball, Pierce coming off of pindowns for shots. We haven't had a good pindown shooter since he was traded and haven't had an elite pindown shooter since Ray left. With Sully or Zeller or even Kelly setting picks for Pierce? It could work, especially since all three of those pickers are quite good at the roll too. Pindowns are hard to hit but they are also hard to defend. Pierce is an excellent catch-and-shooter and that's what is needed.

Pierce averaged 26mpg last season. If he'd be happy with 20mpg that'd be ok with me. Whose minutes would he be stealing? Young's? I'm dubious he's ready. Gigi's? I'm dubious he's coming back. Crash's? He's not getting any now anyway. Crowder's? Maybe, but Turner and Crowder isn't much depth at 3.


bob


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