The Cleveland Cavaliers may see Kevin Love and LeBron James opt out of their contracts and his free agency this summer and while both players are expected to return as free agents, Love is more uncertain and teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets could be interested in the forward if he leaves the Cavs.
The Cavaliers lost to the Warriors in the NBA finals and now the team has numerous questions moving forward about the future. James likely will opt out and sign a new deal, while Love has the chance to opt in and could play out his deal until next summer, but many expect him to opt out. According to Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com, Cavs GM David Griffin expects both players to opt out of their deals, but said that they "intend" to keep the group together.
Love was traded from the Timberwolves last summer and there has been speculation all season that he could opt out this summer. Love has said multiple times to the media that he is intending to stay in Cleveland, but the narrative continues to push him to the market. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN in his year-end analysis of the Cavaliers, "NBA executives" see Love and LaMarcus Aldridge as the players "likeliest to be willing to change teams" this summer.
Windhorst writes about the struggles for Love playing in a new offense and as the third option behind LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Love has said that he enjoyed his season and it hurt him to watch the team in the playoffs without him, but he also may want to be the number one again. Love had that in Minnesota and did not have playoffs success or any playoffs at all and now he is in Cleveland and he missed out on the finals run after an injury against the Boston Celtics.
Winning is a good reason to stay anywhere, but there is an option for Love and if he hits the market, teams will be chasing him. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks all are potential options for Love and the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers also could chase him if he hits the market. Love will be the top free agent whenever he hits free agency and if he stays with the Cavaliers, he will be a free agent next summer. Love finally looked comfortable with the Cavs offense at the end of the season, but he got injured against the Celtics and could not help in the finals.
The salary cap is expected to rise considerably and like many other players, Love may want a short term deal with a high salary that allows him to sign another big deal in a season or two. LeBron James, Jimmy Butler and others are reportedly interested in following this path, as salaries should explode in the coming summers. Love may not care all that much about numbers, but his stats were down this season to 16 points and 9.7 rebounds per game after going for 26 points and 12 rebounds last season and if he leaves, he likely would bump back up to those numbers.
