Cavs Rumors: Kevin Love’s Contract to Be Bought Out; Heat Linked After Trade Deadline

Kevin Love’s nine-year run with the Cleveland Cavaliers is coming to an end.

Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd, the Cavs are finalizing a buyout with the five-time All-Star.

Charania and Lloyd noted the Miami Heat are expected to pursue Love when he becomes a free agent.

There have been indications that Cleveland was seeking to move on from Love. He hasn’t played since Jan. 24 and was at least mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the Feb. 9 deadline.

When no trade materialized, the next logical step for the Cavs was a buyout. Love is in the final season of his four-year, $120 million contract signed in July 2018 after LeBron James left Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The last few years of Love’s on-court career have been defined more by his clashes with coaches and outbursts during games than his performance.

Charania and Joe Vardon reported in Jan. 2020 that Love had an “emotional verbal outburst directed” at Cavs general manager Koby Altman in which he voiced his “his displeasure and disgust with the organization.”

During a game against the Toronto Raptors in April 2021, Love lackadaisically tapped the ball on an inbounds pass that Stanley Johnson picked up, which led to an easy three-pointer for Toronto.

Love apologized for his actions after the game, admitting he “just completely shut down” out of frustration and he “f–ked up.”

Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff moved Love to a bench role starting with the 2021-22 season. He’s appeared in 41 games this season, averaging 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.

Cleveland has been terrific this season with Love playing a minimal role. Bickerstaff has the team No. 4 in the Eastern Conference standings with a 38-23 record going into the All-Star break.

The Heat have been looking for shooting help at forward. They were rumored to be in on Jae Crowder before he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.

If a deal is done, Love would give the Heat more depth and a scorer off the bench as they look to make a move up the Eastern Conference standings after the All-Star break. They are seventh in standings with a 32-27 record.