Miami Heat: Pros and cons of trading for Kevin Love
By Simon Smith
Cons
Injury history
As mentioned earlier, Love has dealt with his fair share of injuries over recent seasons. In addition to the recurring toe injury that saw him play just 22 games last season, Love has also dealt with knee issues in recent times.
Furthermore, Love missed the bulk of the 2015 playoffs due to surgery on a shoulder dislocation, and also missed 64 games in the 2012-13 season due to a persistent hand injury that also required surgery.
So with a multitude of injuries, and over 23,000 career minutes on his odometer, the soon-to-be 31-year old is certainly no spring chicken. And while it may be a stretch to state that he is injury prone, there’s no denying Love’s lengthy list of ailments throughout his 11 seasons in the league.
Breaking: Cavaliers are preparing for the strong possibility that Kevin Love could miss more than a month with a right toe injury, league sources told @WindhorstESPN and @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/l3UHWkZfiV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 29, 2018
Contract and fading efficiency
The four-year, $120 million contract extension which Love signed last offseason does not commence until the coming season. Thus, Love will be earning $28.9 million at age 34 and in his 15th season.
Granted, as a five-time All-Star and an Olympic Gold Medallist, Love’s average earnings certainly equate to his anticipated output.
Having said that, and while it was a small sample size, Love’s contributions last season would certainly have raised some concerns. Over his 22 appearances, Love shot at a 38.5 percent clip from the field, with his 27.2 minutes per game the lowest return since his rookie season.
Given that he’s a career 44.2 percent shooter from the field over the course of his career, it’s more unlikely than likely that his efficiency in this department is going to improve as he delves into the latter stages of his career.
$30 million a year for Kevin Love through his age 34 season immediately becomes a candidate for the worst contract in the NBA. And it's even worse that it provides no present value-doesn't even kick in until next year, when Cavs likely to be even further out of contention.
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) July 24, 2018
Defensive shortcomings
While he has managed to overcome his defensive inadequacies, this area of Love’s game is unlikely to age well as gets well into his four-year deal.
The most prominent example of this came during the 2016 NBA Finals, whereby the Golden State Warriors’ explosive offense led to Love coming off the bench for Game 4 of the series, and furthermore playing just 12 minutes in Game 6.
So while Love’s overall output improved in the ensuing finals series, this continues to be a shadow that looms as it pertains to his total makeup as a player.