Cavaliers: Three goals for Kevin Love for the 2019-20 season

Back in 2014, the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly trading for Kevin Love was viewed as the move that would create a dynasty, but there’s seemingly been constant trade chatter surrounding Love on and off since. He didn’t get moved, though, and now in a rebuild, he’s the key cog, and the Cavs need a big year from him.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly traded for big man Kevin Love to put alongside LeBron James and rising star Kyrie Irving, it was going to create a dynamic big three for years to come.

In some ways it did, and in some ways, it didn’t. Largely due to injury, Love was often viewed as the odd man out.

He was subject to trade rumors just about every offseason (and was throughout times in-season it seemed, too) and it appeared as though he would for sure get dealt at some point, and there will likely to continue to be those for the near future, anyhow.

Fast forward a few years, though, and he’s the final remained core piece from the 2016 Cleveland championship team.

He, somewhat surprisingly, reportedly re-signed with the Cavs via new extension last year under the guise that the Cavs would complete in the Eastern Conference.

This simply was never a reality and Love found himself as a de facto veteran leader on a bad team that was going to shift to playing several young players big minutes and developing them.

He also found himself sidelined due to reported toe surgery, and due to in large part to that, would only be active in 22 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers (per Basketball Reference) in 2018-19.

This year is a new chance for Love to prove he can be a number one option again. To do this, here are a few goals for him for the 2019-20 season.

Goal #1: Suit up for more than 60 games

Injuries are out of a player’s control which makes this a tough goal to fulfill. Love has had a history of injuries, but last year, only playing in 22 games was his lowest regular season total since the 2012-13 season when he played in just 18 contests (per Basketball Reference).

No one is asking Love to be one of the NBA’s iron men, but if he could suit up more than 60 games, that would be a success.

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Beilein will need to systematically build in off days for Love throughout the schedule.

It is often said that the “greatest ability is availability.”

Being able to knock down three-pointers at a high clip is a close second, and both of these other two (well at least the next) are possible with Love on the hardwood.

Goal #2: Re-establish himself as an All-Star (or at least borderline All-Star)

Love is going to get no shortage of touches with a young Cavs team that lacks other proven stars.

He has career averages of 18.3 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game (per Basketball Reference), and if he can put up similar numbers, he could very well find himself in the All-Star conversation once again.

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A good goal, that should be doable, is to put up around 20.0 points, 10.0 boards and 2.5 assists per night. Hopefully, Love will benefit from the increase in talent on the team, even if guys such as Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. are unproven.

Beilein and the Cavs will need to establish Love early and often by getting him touches on the low block and mid-post, as well as swinging the ball around the arc to him for good looks from three-point range, of which he’s a career 37.0% shooter from distance (again, per Basketball Reference).

That inside-out presence, combined with better/man movement should help further open up other pieces such as Garland, Collin Sexton, Porter, and others.

Goal #3: Provide veteran leadership again, and more on the floor

Being a key leader is not something that can be quantified and won’t show up on the stat sheet, but it no doubt affects a team’s play on the court.

Though Love was not playing much for the Cleveland Cavaliers last year, he seemed to really emerge as one of the team’s most important, if not the most important leader (with Tristan Thompson being in that mix as well), which was at least encouraging from a fan’s perspective in what was a tough season.

Love has a chance here to really step up and be the voice in young players’ ears. He is a respected veteran who has earned his keep in the league.

He needs to put that experience to work for a Cleveland team that is going to be playing a bunch of young players big minutes in 2019-20.