Cleveland Cavaliers: Kevin Love has to stay ready

Heading into this coming season, it’s not completely certain as to what to expect from Cleveland Cavaliers stretch big Kevin Love. It appears that Evan Mobley, one would think, could very well start at the 4 alongside Jarrett Allen, who’s set to start at the 5.

Offseason sign-and-trade acquisition Lauri Markkanen, who was added from the Chicago Bulls, looks to be a go-to scoring option to target in a sixth man-type role, meanwhile. Between those three, all of them will get their share of opportunities, in fairness.

So with that in mind, though, what could be in-store for the aforementioned Love, then?

Love was limited to only just 25 games last season, because of a right calf injury, and he unfortunately eventually withdrew from Team USA before they went to the Tokyo Olympics, which stung. Last year, Love wasn’t able to establish much of a rhythm, by and large, and had just 12.2 points and played just 24.9 minutes per contest; it was not a memorable campaign.

That said, Love could still give Cleveland off the bench in some lineups, and he does seem to be squared away, mostly, ahead of this coming season. But he needs to stay ready for the Wine and Gold.

Love has to stay ready for the Cavs, as he still can help this team.

At this point, while one would assume there could continue to be trade suggestions involving him, it’s difficult to foresee anything materialize on that front any time soon, given Love’s injury history, age and contract situation.

And to add to that, whether or not numerous media outlets seemingly believed it could play out before the upcoming offseason, Love/his representation and the Cavs, per his comments at Media Day, haven’t had any buyout discussions. So for now, at minimum, that’s not on the table, and even with us needing to see how things play out, it is a plus that Love is looking to be a “positive force.” 

Love is seemingly healthy leading into the season, too, and was involved in the Wine and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday, and he can still contribute.

It’d look to be anything but a certainty as to what to expect from a minutes standpoint game-to-game for him, but in some stretches still feasibly, Cleveland could benefit from his shooting. If that relates to him playing at times with Lauri Markkanen and either of Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley here and there, oh well.

Generally, though, and perhaps at times at the 5 for spurts, Love’s shooting could still be very meaningful for the Cavs, and despite last season’s woes, the shooting presence is still impactful. Considering that, he needs to stay ready and hopefully he can establish a shooting rhythm, to an extent, leading into the season.

Love did also hit 37.4 percent of a career-high 7.0 three-point attempts per contest in 2019-20 as well, and in bench minutes, he still can provide a lift for the Cavaliers as a catch-and-shoot guy, movement shooter, defensive rebounder and secondary playmaker.

And as KJG’s Billy Beebe pointed out last month, Love and Ricky Rubio, who the veteran big played with on the Minnesota Timberwolves, could be a quality bench duo for the Cavs. This play from the Wine and Gold scrimmage, regarding the pick-and-pop game, is right up that alley, too.

In any case, Love, who has had a few notable blow-ups in recent seasons on the floor, and has been visibly frustrated, needs to have full buy-in. We know that.

However, even with me taking his comments at Media Day with a grain of salt, and we’ll need to see how things play out, if Love stays ready, he can still be a solid contributor for this team. That’s regardless of the contract.

He’ll need to be healthy, though, albeit in a reduced role, one would think that’d help those chances, and Cleveland will be leaning on the younger bigs, anyhow.

Love in some lineups throughout games could still make a difference in spurts/stretches for this Cavs team, though, and to that point, he’ll need to stay ready for when ample chances come.