Kevin Love - Miami Ground Machine

[benchplayer]

Eh, I think no longer having to perform under a "championship or bust" microscope or the fear of LeBron's harsh criticism will alleviate a TON of pressure on Love.

He's playing with house money, as his career has come full circle. He won a ring and signed his last big contract. He's respected by the fans for what he's sacrificed for the organization and accomplished for the city. He's borderline revered for his sense of loyalty after the other 2 members of the big 3 darted. There are really no expectations for him or this Cavs team; he just has to go out and ball.

He can also go back to the play style he had on the Twolves. I hope we finally get to see a Zizic/love lineup

 

[avs2000]

Eh, I think no longer having to perform under a "championship or bust" microscope or the fear of LeBron's harsh criticism will alleviate a TON of pressure on Love.

He's playing with house money, as his career has come full circle. He won a ring and signed his last big contract. He's respected by the fans for what he's sacrificed for the organization and accomplished for the city. He's borderline revered for his sense of loyalty after the other 2 members of the big 3 darted. There are really no expectations for him or this Cavs team; he just has to go out and ball.

Agreed. No pressure on love or this team. There are zero expectations. I know we lost the goat but love will score a little more. And your adding Sexton zizic and cedi. Those 4 will pick up most of the slack. I also think Clarkson might surprise. This team will surprise people depending on coaching. Got to have ball movement. No iso. These players want to play defense too lue better demand it

 

[Cavatt]

If Collin ends ups as somewhere in between Kemba/Conley and Cedi ends up as a Turkoglu w/defense that would be fantastic. But we would still need to be able to add a top20-25 player in the league type during the beginning of their primes to ever have a chance at reaching an NBA Finals.

No knock on them and their potential at all, but unless either of them exceed those already quite lofty and good projection, we’ll need one more player on an equal if not better than them level if we’re going to have a run of years as a top 4-6 team in the league during their early to mid primes.

No pressure Dan/Koby!

I think it will have to come in free agency. If the team gets good enough that a top flight guy would think it would be good to come here, it has to happen in the next couple of years while the kids are on cheap contracts.

 

[shukle]

Love this guy, but I still can't believe we gave him a 5 year max. Kevin Love is certainly a very serviceable player, but he's not a top 2 player on a championship team, which is what max should be for. He was top 3, but on a team with the GOAT... Love doesn't really fit modern NBA frontcourts... He was ahead of his time in Minnesota as one of the first power forwards with elite range, but he doesn't have the mobility required these days. He can't play small ball C either cuz he just doesn't defend good enough.

I don't think anyone wants to touch that contract in the NBA, so we're gonna be stuck with Love for a while I think... Might be one of the worst contracts in the league year 3 or 4... One of the best guys in the league off the floor, love him, but... Just don't think he fits in modern NBA.

 

[Cavatt]

Love this guy, but I still can't believe we gave him a 5 year max. Kevin Love is certainly a very serviceable player, but he's not a top 2 player on a championship team, which is what max should be for. He was top 3, but on a team with the GOAT... Love doesn't really fit modern NBA frontcourts... He was ahead of his time in Minnesota as one of the first power forwards with elite range, but he doesn't have the mobility required these days. He can't play small ball C either cuz he just doesn't defend good enough.

I don't think anyone wants to touch that contract in the NBA, so we're gonna be stuck with Love for a while I think... Might be one of the worst contracts in the league year 3 or 4... One of the best guys in the league off the floor, love him, but... Just don't think he fits in modern NBA.

You can play him as a stretch 5 if you want. I dunno. If he gets hurt it will be a bad contract, and yeah might be a bad contract in the last year of it.

 

[chuck0609]

You can play him as a stretch 5 if you want. I dunno. If he gets hurt it will be a bad contract, and yeah might be a bad contract in the last year of it.

He’s a stretch 4 that can shoot. He’s never played off athleticism. He gets position for rebounds. His strong traits should stick around, hopefully for the length of the contract.

 

[Cavatt]

He’s a stretch 4 that can shoot. He’s never played off athleticism. He gets position for rebounds. His strong traits should stick around, hopefully for the length of the contract.

Chances are he is not that great at 35. I'm cool with that tho. Yet cubby

 

[czvo]

Love this guy, but I still can't believe we gave him a 5 year max. Kevin Love is certainly a very serviceable player, but he's not a top 2 player on a championship team, which is what max should be for. He was top 3, but on a team with the GOAT... Love doesn't really fit modern NBA frontcourts... He was ahead of his time in Minnesota as one of the first power forwards with elite range, but he doesn't have the mobility required these days. He can't play small ball C either cuz he just doesn't defend good enough.

I don't think anyone wants to touch that contract in the NBA, so we're gonna be stuck with Love for a while I think... Might be one of the worst contracts in the league year 3 or 4... One of the best guys in the league off the floor, love him, but... Just don't think he fits in modern NBA.

I understand what you're trying to say with the bolded, but the reality is, if you use this definition, there are very few max players in this league. Maybe 10 or 12? That makes damn near the entire league overpaid.

I've come around to the line of thinking that says if a team isn't going to be a title contender for the near future, and it won't hurt the draft prospects, it's OK to pay a little more for really good players. That's what the cavs did with love.

 

[Cavatt]

The way the cap works guys like Durant and Lebron are underpaid at the max. If you wanted to be an absolutist there are only maybe 3 guys that deserve the max contract. In reality a lot of players get it on potential or just hype.

 

[Lumthemad]

You signed Kevin to the deal you did because RIGHT NOW he's a top 25 basketball player in the league. Cleveland isn't able to normally sign these sort of guys, so it made sense.

I also agree with Cavatt in terms of the true max guys out there. There are just a few guys I'd consider franchise altering max talents. You will likely come to find at the end of Kevin's deal, the contract will end up being more reasonable than newer contracts being drawn up.

I appreciate the kind of ball-player Kevin is and perhaps under a different style, he can regain some of the mojo of the star player he had prior to coming to "The Land". I wouldn't bet against him.

 

[Boom Outta Here]

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/AlwaysLateESPN/status/1042587963719397376

 

[cavsfever]

Love this guy, but I still can't believe we gave him a 5 year max. Kevin Love is certainly a very serviceable player, but he's not a top 2 player on a championship team, which is what max should be for. He was top 3, but on a team with the GOAT... Love doesn't really fit modern NBA frontcourts... He was ahead of his time in Minnesota as one of the first power forwards with elite range, but he doesn't have the mobility required these days. He can't play small ball C either cuz he just doesn't defend good enough.

I don't think anyone wants to touch that contract in the NBA, so we're gonna be stuck with Love for a while I think... Might be one of the worst contracts in the league year 3 or 4... One of the best guys in the league off the floor, love him, but... Just don't think he fits in modern NBA.

I think a lot of what you say is more or less correct, but it's not about championships right now. Signing Love means the front office is prioritizing putting a watchable product on the floor over tanking. And when healthy Love is still a very good player who should make the team far more marketable over the rebuilding period. Plus Gilbert clearly appreciates loyalty.

 

[6.19.2016]

 

[red.]

 

[buzzdog]

Looks like he's ready to go back to being a wiser, more evolved version of "Minny Love".