3. The Cavs still have future cap room
Love opted out of his 2019-20 season on his current five-year deal, according to ESPN. The new extension kicks in after he collects $24.1 million next year. The deal runs through 2022-23 season. So Cleveland is chained to Love for the next five seasons when taking into account the extension.
Love agreed to $8 million less than the full max for the final two years of the contract, which would have been more than $30 million. So, Koby Altman and company didn’t handcuff future teams from signing key free agents in the near future.
The love for Kevin in Ohio is real ❤️ (via @cavs) pic.twitter.com/ecfaRjjcvx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 24, 2018
In a perfect world, Collin Sexton is a superstar by the offseason of 2021. One of the young pieces, whether it be Rodney Hood, Larry Nance Jr. or whoever, becomes a great complementary piece, while Kevin Love is still producing at an All-Star level.
If the chips fall into place, Cleveland can pitch the possibility of championship contention to top free agents about 1,095 days from now.
Even though he was acquired in a trade, Kevin Love is for all intents and purposes the biggest non-LeBron free agent in Cavs history and could very well wind up the second-best player in team history. You won't find me complaining today.
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) July 24, 2018
There’s a lot that has to go right, and 2021 seems like eons away. Still, it’s a clear path. Cleveland isn’t entering the upcoming year with questions concerning major building blocks. It’s established a concrete game plan, one that will take a few years to unfold, but is at least a solid path forward.
Nevertheless, the Cavaliers can still trade Kevin Love.