The Great Debate of "Will He or Won't He" in regard to Kevin Love leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency is a pendulum. This week it swung toward "every executive" believing he will bolt Cleveland in the offseason, leaving the door open to the possibility of him signing with either the Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Knicks in July. Following the Cavaliers' sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, there's also a new factor to consider: Will winning the NBA Finals actually hurt the chances of Love staying in Cleveland?
Almost every day there's a new Love report. Over the weekend the chatter was Love would leave Cleveland after the season, and on Monday it was the shoulder injury he suffered might make the chances of him staying higher. The first report came from ESPN writer Brian Windhorst and Grantland writer Zach Lowe, who discussed Love's impending free agency during a podcast.
Here's the exchange between Windhorst and Grantland, courtesy of RealGM:
"Every executive I talk to, every agent I talk to, every quasi insider, every girlfriend's cousin's sister's boyfriend all says this guy is out of there," Windhorst said.
"I hear the same thing from everybody," said Lowe. "From everyone that is two or three or four steps removed. I don't quite believe all of that."
"I agree."
"Part of what's going on there is the Lakers' boogeyman," Lowe said. "They don't just say he's out of there, they say 'He's going to the Lakers.' That has much to do with the fear people have of the Lakers as it does with Kevin Love."
"I can't get a read on Kevin," said Windhorst. "His personality is a little bit different than many players I've covered. He has at every turn even gone out of his way to make statements about how he intends to remain in Cleveland."
The other report came from Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler, who raised the possibility of Love opting into the final year of his deal because of his shoulder injury.
"Despite comments to the contrary, it's always been expected that Love would opt-out this summer and sign a new deal. However, with the severity of his shoulder injury it's more of a 50/50 decision at this point," Kyler wrote.
Doctors cleared Love this week to travel with the team, and although he's not yet practicing again, nothing has indicated the injury is career-threatening. If Love were to test the market this summer, he'd almost certainly be showered with max-contract offers - something the Cavaliers may no longer be inclined to offer, given how the team still managed to reach the NBA finals without Love. The two names constantly being tossed around are the Lakers and Knicks, largely because they're both big-market teams with max-level cap space and in need of a premier power forward.
There's another factor to consider, too. Does Cleveland winning the NBA title without Love help or hurt its chances of re-signing him? Love reportedly already hadn't felt like an integral part of the team, and that feeling certainly won't lessen if the Cavaliers go on to win the championship without him.
On the flipside, do the Cavaliers even want Love back if it costs them $16 million next season or a new max-level contract? Love never quite found his stride in the Cavaliers' offense this season, excluding a handful of playoff games, and was relegated to being the team's No. 3 option. His flimsy defense also made him a liability at times in tight fourth-quarter games. Love was supposed to be the piece that propelled Cleveland to a championship, but if this postseason proved anything it's that Cleveland can play just as well - maybe even better - with Tristan Thompson starting in place of Love.
Hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy would put an exclamation mark on that notion. Cleveland already will be strapped for cap space this summer, and soon-to-be restricted free agent Thompson is due for a new contract. If you're David Griffin, how do you justify giving Love a max deal?
This isn't a slight on Love. But it could be the Love-Cavaliers trade goes down as an example of a talented player just not being a fit for a certain team. If Cleveland wins the championship, it would make that notion painfully obvious. Moreover, would watching his team win the title from the sideline alienate him from his teammates next season? When it's all said and done, the second-biggest result of the 2015 NBA playoffs for Cleveland likely will be Love and the front office both coming to separate but mutual decisions that a split is in the best interests of both sides.
