The latest Kevin Love report has him deciding between two teams in free agency: the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. According to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE, Love will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency sign with either Los Angeles or Boston.
The Love reports keep coming. The latest, from Blakely, claims Love has it down to two teams.
"I think the Celtics will have a legitimate shot at landing him because they're going to have a lot of money," Blakely told Comcast Sportsnet on Thursday. "But I think this is ultimately one of those east coast-west coast battles between the Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers."
Love has been linked to Boston before, mostly last summer when he wanted out of Minnesota, but Blakely is the first to ever put Boston that high on Love's wish list.
"They have the money, they have the young, up-and-coming coach," Blakely continued. "They've got a lot of things going in their favor to land Kevin Love. And he's a guy that's proven he loves being in Boston."
Half of Blakely's report - the bit about the Lakers being one of his top choices - is believable. Love may love the city of Boston, but he actually lives in Los Angeles. Reports since last summer have pegged the Lakers as one of Love's preferred destinations, and the team's big-market allure, cap space and promising pieces - Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and the to-be-determined No. 2 pick of this year's draft - certainly make the Lakers an attractive option, especially since Love would likely once again become the focal point of an offense.
Love leaving Cleveland - especially if it wins the NBA finals - seems inevitable this summer, but it's difficult to see him choosing Boston over a team like the Lakers, the New York Knicks or the Houston Rockets. Money can make you forgive and forget a lot of things, but having his first postseason ended by Kelly Olynyk - Love called it a bush-league play -has to still be fresh on his mind.
At this point you have to take the Love reports with a grain of salt, given how frequently they keep popping up. The only thing that looks anything close to certain is Love leaving Cleveland this summer. Beyond that, who knows. Love has until the end of June to notify the Cavaliers of whether he will opt out of his deal, giving the rumor mill plenty of time to keep on turning.
