Hoops Habit
Fansided

Top 5 Free Agency Destinations For Kevin Love

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 5, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) celebrates his three-point basket in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) celebrates his three-point basket in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
Kevin Love
Apr 23, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) shoots for three points against the Boston Celtics during the second half in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 103-95. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Boston Celtics

Like the Lakers, the Boston Celtics are a historically successful franchise that players dream about playing for as children. Brad Stevens has already built a reputation as being one of the league’s best head coaches and although the city of Boston is not quite as universally attractive as Los Angeles, the Celtics are further along in their rebuilding process than the Lakers are.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Celtics could supplement their youth with the addition of the rim protector they need and a respected veteran/beloved Celtic great:

Would the addition of Robin Lopez and Paul Pierce catapult Boston to the top of Kevin Love’s free agency destinations list? Probably not. But Love just recently learned how much closer he is to a title by playing in the Eastern Conference, and since the Celtics just made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed this year, just imagine how much better they’d be with Love, Pierce and Lopez in the fold.

Boston has the cap space to make this happen and just like he’d be with the Lakers, Love would automatically become the face of the franchise. That should hold some appeal to a guy whose value is currently being compared to that of Tristan Thompson.

However, there are obstacles to this potential union. Even though the Celtics are closer to the NBA Finals than the Lakers are, they’re also loaded with more youth than talent, which makes it difficult for Boston to contend for championships during Love’s prime. Cleveland still holds the advantage there, so unless the Celtics can really tap into that “We actually appreciate you!” angle, this won’t be happening either.

Next: No. 2