It’s just never felt like Kevin Love has been a fit for the Cleveland Cavaliers. While he was supposed to be the piece that completed the superstar trio and put this team over the top, for whatever reason – whether you want to blame head coach David Blatt or whether maybe we overestimated Love’s status in this league – he just hasn’t looked like the same player while wearing a Cavs uniform.
What many people have forgotten about right now is that Love hasn’t signed his extension. The Cavs wanted to ink him long term as soon as they acquired him but he wanted to wait. He wants to play for a winner and he’s willing to sacrifice if championship rings come his way. But at present, the Cavs are merely the fifth-seed in the Eastern Conference and he’s had friction with his teammates. As a result, with things playing out the way they have, it looks like Love is a goner unless this Cavs team makes a serious run in the playoffs. Here’s why:
Two Central Controversies Could Prove To Be Too Much For Him And The Cavaliers To Handle
This is the core reason why Love will be gone if the Cavaliers don’t at least make the Eastern Conference Finals: there was a flap on Twitter a few weeks ago, as LeBron James used a term familiar to Love, and did so in a way that did not reflect positively on Love. LeBron shrugged off the incident, saying that things between him and Love are good, but the use of such a particular set of words created the undeniable impression that LeBron was unhappy with Love about something. Public statements are one thing between two players. They’re more serious when they involve the head coach.
Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN. Be apart of something special! Just my thoughts
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 8, 2015
The second incident was when Cleveland coach David Blatt threw Love under the bus a month ago when the Cavaliers were struggling. He said that Love was not playing at the level of a superstar, basically. That’s what it came down to. Cleveland has improved since then, but if the team fails to get to the conference finals, the season will become such a failure that it will instantly become impossible for Love and Blatt to coexist any longer. Love is definitely a team player but only if the championship wins come. If Love is uncomfortable with his teammates and the coach, and they’re not in contention for rings, he’s going to bounce.
Love Wants To Be A Franchise Player
This is closely related to the previous example, specifically Blatt’s comments about Love not being a superstar-level player. If Love wants to earn this status, perhaps he needs to be on a team which can enable him to shine the most and still lead to playoff appearances. Let’s face it: this is a guy that averaged 26.1 points per game, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists last season. That’s what he’s capable of. This year, he’s at 17 points per game, 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Obviously, he’s in a different situation but this setup hasn’t exactly helped him shine.
If he really wants to be a centerpiece player rather than a role-player of a supporting cast, he’ll leave Cleveland. There are options where he can go to be the No. 1 or No. 1-A option. In Cleveland, he’s clearly the third and forgotten guy.
He Is A West Coast Guy At Heart
He was born in Santa Monica, California and played his college ball at UCLA. At heart, he’s a West Coast guy that’s stuck in the East Coast. Some people might scoff at the idea but if that’s true, then he might be looking at the Los Angeles Lakers as an option. Who knows: Love, Bryant and plenty of cap space is probably good enough to get in the playoffs if the money is spent wisely. And with Bryant being in the twilight of his career, it means Love can be the new man in town and yet be in an environment he more naturally embraces – especially since he was a star in college at UCLA.
