Cleveland Cavaliers might be enjoying the service of Kevin Love right now, but several analysts believe anything lesser than a Conference Finals finish could prompt the former All-Star power forward to opt out from the final year of his contract and sign with another this summer.
Bleacher Report analysts Ric Bucher and Howard Beck both believed the idea of Love staying with the Cavaliers for a long haul is not 'slam dunk' as many would think, stressing anything could happen especially if the Cavs fall short in their goal of winning an NBA championship this season.
According to Bucher, Love will explore the free-agency market and see if he can find a team that regards him as a franchise player again, just like he was in Minnesota, at the same time, puts him in position to win championship.
When all said and done, Kevin Love is gonna have the opportunity to go to someplace and be regarded as a franchise player again. Bucher said during a panel discussion on Bleacher Report. "I talked to GMs, and they said no question. There will be a field of teams willing to do that. There will be several teams in better climate on coast that he's more comfortable with and ultimately, he's gonna have options.
Beck, who covered the New York Knicks for years as a writer for New York Times before joining Bleacher Report last year, is also buying the idea that Love might bolt from the Cavs at the end of the season and eventually find a team with which he can be the man and win championships.
"The one thing I consistently heard about Kevin Love from the people who know him best is he wants to win." Beck opined. "Here's the big problem when you are a star player, you make the sacrifice if you see the payoff. I think he's willing to make the sacrifice, but he's not getting out of it what he wants individually or as a team.
If he has diminished role and they get to the finals and win a championship, that's fine I think Kevin Love would be more inclined to stay. But the scenario we are talking about here is the Cavs falling short, and if the Cavs fall short then yeah.
Beck added there's a bunch of teams that will be pursuing Love when he hits the market, but he thinks big market teams like the Lakers, Knicks and the Celtics are considered the front-runner at this point.
The 26-year old Love missed this year's All-Star team after averaging 16.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in 34.7 per game this season - which is below his career averages (18 points and 12 rebounds per game). He's earning $15.7M this year but he's expected to command a contract worth at least $20M per year this summer.
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