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A person familiar with The Associated Press, reported that Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has opted out of his final year contract with the franchise. Love has decided to leave the 16.7 million owed to him, on the table and become a free agent when free agency begins on July 1st. ESPN was the first to report this development.
The 3 time All-Star, Love was traded to the Cavs last summer as a part of blockbuster deal that saw the 2013 first overall pick Anthony Bennett, 2014 first overall pick Andrew Wiggins and a 2016 first round pick received by the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange. With this deal, Cleveland built a Super team with their Big 3 of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and LeBron James, who had signed with his home state franchise after four successful years with the Miami Heat.
As big as this news sounds, the Cavaliers front office expected this news especially General Manager David Griffin. During the season ending press conference, after the Cavaliers went down to the Golden State Warriors 4-2 in the NBA Finals, Griffin mentioned that he expects his top two free agents Love and James to not only opt out of their contracts but also re-sign with the team.
That being said there are multiple teams with a legitimate chance to sign with Love, who are licking their fingertips with this announcement. Portlant Trailblazers are a team who have just to be in the hunt as their star free agent LaMarcus Aldridge is expected to flee. Boston Celtics with their cap space are expected to be a team ready with a pitch to land him. Graduating from UCLA, many believe Love might return to his alma mater city to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Love missed most of his first career NBA Playoffs due to a shoulder injury he suffered while trying to box out Celtics’ forward Kelly Olynyk in Game 4 of the Cavs’ first round battle with Boston. Love’s expected recover time for the left shoulder dislocation was somewhere between 4 to 6 weeks. He averaged 16.4 points and 9.7 rebounds with Cleveland during the regular season.
