Extending Kevin Love should be the Cleveland Cavaliers’ next offseason task

The Cleveland Cavaliers should talk to Kevin Love about extending his contract so he can retire with the Cavs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have finalized and announced the contract extension for Darius Garland, making him the highest-paid player in Cavs history. The size of the deal has left many uneasy, but not necessarily upset. Garland has shown he’s getting better, but how much better is he going to be? There are concerns the Cavs acted too quickly in giving him his deal, and that he may not be ready. He might not be, but that’s when you need a talented team around him, and one name, in particular, is important to keep to help Garland along his way; Kevin Love.

Love is in the last year of his mega extension that he signed in 2018, and many have discussed his future with the team. Some view his contract as a tradeable asset, while others see his Sixth-Man Award runner-up status as proof that he has value that the team can’t easily replace.

I’m in the latter camp, as I believe Love is a needed asset for this team to continue to contend with. There are guys who may be able to replace him in one day, but they’re not there or even close to being there yet. Love is still a double-double machine with excellent three-point shooting and extending him is imperative.

The Cleveland Cavaliers extending Kevin Love next is what needs to happen

The Cleveland Cavaliers need to extend Love next. There’s no doubt about it in my mind. He’s in the last year of his four-year, $120 million extensions, and is set to turn 34 in a matter of weeks. You can extend him, and considering he’s spent eight years in Cleveland, and the team is about to become a legitimate contender, it wouldn’t be hard to sell him to take a super discount.

The Cavs and Love should be able to agree on a two or three-year extension that’s worth between $30-45 million depending on incentives over how much he plays, what he does statistically, what the team does performance-wise, and all that jazz.

I think Love, even at his age, is still worth $10-15 million per year. He’s never been the guy who dominated with athleticism, so even if he’s getting a bit older and a bit slower, he’s not a liability the same way others would be. His game won’t age the same way that someone like LeBron James’ will/would

If Love can stay healthy, he can still go. So the Cavs would be wise to lock down an extension now and make sure their future Hall of Famer retires as a member of the Cavs.