3 landing spots that make the most sense for Kevin Love
By Chad Porto
Kevin Love has a host of options for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Kevin Love is heading off to free agency sooner rather than later. The expected future Hall of Famer is talking buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a situation the team didn’t want, but one that Love was pushing for apparently. Once the buyout is complete, Love will be a free agent for the first time in his career.
The runner-up to the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2022, Love would be a huge asset for anyone that lands him, assuming he’s healthy. His hand and back caused him problems in 2023 and J.B. Bickerstaff decided Love wasn’t worth the minutes anymore, so he replaced him with Dean Wade. Wade’s a good player, but Love’s offensive dynamic is being severely ignored by Bickerstaff.
So assuming Love can rebound wherever he lands, he can make an immediate impact and help bolster not only the team’s rebounding but their shooting as well. That’s not the only advantage of signing Love, however.
There’s been some buzz around Love teaming up with former collegiate teammate Russell Westbrook and should there be some truth to that buzz, the two could instantly reshape a team’s entire bench dynamic. Now, are they tied together? Likely not, but the idea that a team can land two ex-UCLA Bruins at the same time, and at positions of need nonetheless, it makes the reuniting of the pair a pretty attractive option.
Whoever lands Love (and Westbrook?) will be a team with championship aspirations, and the three teams who are in the most need to land a guy like Love are the three places we’re looking at today.