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July 1, 2015You’d be well-served to read Kyle Welch’s Consumer’s Guide to NBA Free Agency Rumor Madness before reading this one: Kevin Love will reportedly meet with the Los Angeles Lakers later this week.
This report comes from ESPN’s Chris Broussard, and as of press time has not been confirmed by any other source. Love played at UCLA and lives in Los Angeles in the offseason, so this meeting — should it come to fruition — may be a function of geographic convenience and due diligence as much as anything.
EDIT: Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck has confirmed Broussard’s report.
Can also confirm @Chris_Broussard report from last night: Kevin Love will be meeting with the Lakers. And I'm told they have a shot.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) July 1, 2015
Love has said several times that he intends to re-sign with the Cavs. The team can offer him a five-year max deal worth about $110 million, though it is unclear if Love would prefer that to a shorter-term deal that would allow him to re-sign at a larger figure as the NBA salary cap goes up, like the one LeBron James is expected to sign. Love dealt with injuries for much of the 2014-15 season, and the security offered with a five-year deal may be more attractive than the high-risk, high-reward route of signing a one- or two-year contract.
It would seem that Cleveland offers Love the best chance of playing on a title contender, at least as long as LeBron has two legs and two arms. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ pitch would be predicated on sun and stars, per Broussard:
The Lakers’ pitch to top-shelf free agents, including Love, will focus on the chance to be a star on the league’s glamour team, the opportunity for global exposure, and the fact that the Lakers have enough cap room going forward to add stars and complementary talent next summer, one source said.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans gave Anthony Davis an extension, the Spurs are primed to sign LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol is likely to stay in Memphis, and the Warriors will bring most everyone back. Love could shock us all and head to the Western Conference. Whether or not that’d be wise is a different story altogether.
10 Comments
We knew he was going to meet with teams prior this report, right? Or at least we assumed? Anyway, the most important meeting already happened over the weekend when KLove and LBJ were pictured together.
I think that was always speculation. He might, but it’s clear that whatever meeting Broussard was talking about was un-finalized. Wojnarowski reported yesterday that the Celtics were still awaiting word on whether or not they’ll get a meeting with Love as well. My guess is he’s told a bunch of people “maybe” to meeting and is waiting to see how things unfold. Not sure why that would be unless he is just using them as leverage to ensure Cleveland offers him the deal he wants. I can’t imagine they didn’t tell him ahead of time “approximately” what they might offer.
whatevs. If I’m Kevin I’m meeting them for a first impression in case I want out of Cleveland next year when the Lakers might have more pieces in place. If he’s about winning now he’s not going to the Lakers now. But if he’s more about playing in a city he prefers then he needs to go there instead. Kind of like what Pops said about pitching a FA at midnight: “I’ll be in bed. And if that’s the difference in someone coming or not, then I don’t want them.”
Kevin: Yeah… when I was in Cleveland I just didn’t like my fit. I was like the 3rd scoring option, LeBron yelled at me constantly and there was tremendous pressure to win all the time. I’m really looking to get away from that.
Lakers: OH YEAH….NO WORRIES, I’M SURE YOU’LL BE LIKE, “THE GUY” HERE. KOBE IS TOTALLY CALM, TOTALLY TOTALLY CALM…. AND THERE IS NO PRESSURE ON US AT ALL.
I’m going in to take a nap. When I wake, if the money’s on the table, I’ll know I have a partner. If it isn’t, I’ll know I don’t.
Your move Kev.
What you said, Mr. Roth.
Broussard strikes again!
Love is staying put – was there ever a doubt?
even more stupider was Howard Beck, who said the Lakers “have a shot.” So far from truth. I saw some of the twitter reactions – they were pretty funny.
and what LeBron said in the beginning of this whole thing about no recruiting K Love: it’s up to him if he wants to be a part of something special.