Kevin Love: ‘I’m A Cleveland Cavalier Long-Term’
By Evan Massey
Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love said that he would stay with the team long-term.
There have been quite a few rumors swirling around about Kevin Love over the last few weeks, and many expected to see him opt out of his deal following this season and test the free agency market. That doesn’t appear to be the future plans for Love at this point in time, and he made some quotes that suggest he is looking to stick around in Cleveland long-term.
"“Since I was traded to Cleveland during the summer, I said since day one I’m a Cleveland Cavalier long term. I plan for it to be that way, and I want to grow with this team. If I could end all the speculation now I would, but people are going to continue to talk no matter what. I just want to continue to get better with this team long term. I’m a Cavalier.”"
It has been a bit of a slow start for Love in Cleveland, but he has begun to figure things out and move forward. The Cavaliers were expected to start a bit slower with all of the new faces on the roster, and everyone has had to learn how to play with a player like LeBron James. Love is a huge piece of what has made the Cavaliers turn things back around over the last few games, and he is still one of the best players in the league.
Take a look at Love’s numbers so far this season in Cleveland:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/3/2014.
Obviously the numbers don’t look as good as last season in Minnesota, when he averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. That being said, they are beginning to go up now that it appears he has figured out his role. It will also continue to go up throughout the course of the season as the team continues figuring out to reach its full potential.
Love’s scoring potential hasn’t been able to take full effect due to shooting six less times per game. It isn’t that he has been as efficient or playing as good as he did last year, but the numbers simply aren’t there to be taken.
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That also translates over to his rebounding, as the Cavaliers have more rebounders than Minnesota did last season. James is always going to pick up a good chunk of them, as is Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson. He is still finding ways to impact the game, and he has been very humble about giving up his big stat numbers.
All of that being said, the Cavaliers and their fans can rest a bit easier after hearing these words from Love. He might decided to change his mind once the offseason hits, but as of right now he is very happy with his role and fit in Cleveland. It will be very interesting to see how the remainder of the season goes, and whether or not he does reconsider this statement towards the end of the year.