Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 candidates for a breakout season in 2018-19

1. Kevin Love

The possibilities of what would happen to Kevin Love this offseason were all over the map. Speculation regarding his future that began before LeBron decided to leave Cleveland only intensified after LeBron made it official.

Some people expected Love would be traded so the Cavs could start another rebuilding process. Some thought they would keep Love and allow him to play through his contract that ended in 2019 (or 2020 if he exercised his option) and decide what to do with him then. Some predicted Love would be the Cavs’ new No. 1 option. Before the draft and free agency period began, some figured the team would prefer to put an incoming rookie or a free agent acquisition at the forefront as the new top guy.

It turned out that the Cavs not only wanted to keep Love, but wanted to keep him around for a while. A few weeks after LeBron left, the Cavs inked Love to a four-year extension that expires in 2023 and pays him an average of $30 million per season.

Now that he has been clearly placed atop the marquee as “The Man” in Cleveland, what will Love do with that label?

Love has been the No. 1 option and face of a franchise before, when he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was good for 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds per game back then. He was a perennial All-Star in the Western Conference and even got some MVP votes thrown his way, but the Wolves were generally bad and never made the playoffs.

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After Love was traded to Cleveland in 2014, his individual numbers dropped significantly. While certain critics will use that as an indictment against LeBron, a drop in stats is to be expected when a player who was the No. 1 option becomes the No. 3 option.

It happened to Mark Aguirre when he went from the Dallas Mavericks to the Detroit Pistons; it happened to Ray Allen when he went from Seattle to Boston; and it happened to Carmelo Anthony when he went from the New York Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s going to happen to DeMarcus Cousins when he plays for the Golden State Warriors.

Of course, the upside was that Love was on a good team for a change. So even if his numbers weren’t amazing, he was finally playing in the postseason and he won a championship.

Now that he’s back in the No. 1 role, Love can resume putting up superstar stats. In a way, that will be a breakout year — especially in the view of those who forgot how productive he can be, or who somehow believed he’d become a worse basketball player due to his reduced stats.

Love turns 30 years old on Sept. 7. Despite a recent history of injuries, he is still physically capable of being that 20-and-10 guy he was in Minnesota, but now he’s four years wiser and more experienced. He’s played in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and won. He’s been in playoff road games and shined.

Love is better equipped to lead a team now than he was the last time he was given that job.