Kevin Love has been declared the focal point of the Cleveland Cavaliers offense this season and so far he is off to a very good start to this season but that wasn't exactly the case last year. In his first season with the Cavaliers it seemed that Love was struggling to find how he fit with the team and the offense and it seemed as though his relationship with LeBron James wasn't great. It is being reported now that the problem last year was that Love showed up to Cleveland out of shape and LeBron was none too happy about it, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal.
After LeBron decided to come back to Cleveland he made it a goal of his to try and get Love to come join him as he had admired him from afar without really knowing him all that well. Love had always posted great numbers with the Minnesota Timberwolves and was unhappy there so LeBron thought he would be a great fit. Love was eventually traded to Cleveland just as LeBron wanted but Love didn't exactly live up to his expectations at first.
Love reportedly showed up to the team out of shape as he didn't work out much in the summer that he was traded and dealt with constant nagging injuries throughout the season. James was expecting an elite player with great work ethic from Love but that's not what he got when Love first came over and as a result he reportedly gravitated more towards Kyrie Irving. While James and Irving were dominating and putting up big numbers it didn't seem like Love fit in with the team as he was mostly being used as a spot-up three point shooter.
Because of this seemingly sour relationship it seemed as though Love would not re-sign with Cleveland in the offseason but he and LeBron met up in Los Angeles for a meeting where they discussed what they wanted to accomplish in Cleveland. Love reportedly told James he wanted a bigger role in the offense and James has come through with that as he has told the media several times that Love is the focal point.
Love came into training camp this season in great shape and has rewarded the team as he is averaging 17.0 points and 12.6 rebounds per game so far as the Cavaliers have started out 6-1. Irving is still out as he recovers from his knee injury and things could change when he gets back but as of right now things seem pretty good in Cleveland which is great news considering the Love-LeBron relationship reportedly did not get off to a very good start.
