Grading the Miami Heat’s interesting buyout signing of Kevin Love
By Dalton Sell
After electing not to make any major deals at the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, the Miami Heat were expected to be active in the buyout market.
That quickly proved to be the case after they signed Kevin Love to a deal for the remainder of the season once he received a buyout from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Love will now join the Heat, who sit at seventh in the Eastern Conference, as they look to make a push for the postseason. With all of that said, let us break down the mid-season signing of Love and give it a letter grade.
The financial aspect
Given that Love is signing with the Heat for just the remainder of the season, this deal was never going to be significant. Per Spotrac, Love’s deal is worth $818,314. That is pretty standard for an experienced veteran hitting the buyout market, as these deals are often low-cost.
For a player with a reputation like Love’s, that is a tremendous deal from Miami’s perspective. He might not be the player he was at one point, but the point still stands. Given Miami’s rather limited financial flexibility, getting a piece that could possibly become a starter for a low price like this is a great move for them.
Simply put, this is about as low-risk as it gets, especially given what Love will bring to the table for the Heat on the court moving forward.