A difficult year has finally ended Kevin Love’s time with the Cavs. Once his buyout is finalized, which playoff teams could use him the most?
A year ago, heading into the All-Star Break, Kevin Love was in the midst of a career renaissance — averaging 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game off the bench for the Cavs, shooting 39.3 percent from beyond the arc and building a serious Sixth Man of the Year campaign. (He eventually finished second to Tyler Herro).
This year, he’ll be heading into the All-Star Break looking for a new home after finalizing a buyout agreement with the Cavs.
It’s been a rough season for Love. At 34, he’s shooting just 35.4 percent from beyond the arc and had called completely out of the Cavs rotation — receiving DNP – Coach’s Decision for nine straight games before this buy-out news broke.
Despite his struggles, Love is still a savvy passer whose legacy of strong outside shooting gives him plenty of gravity even if he’s been cold lately. It’s also worth noting that his shooting percentage has really just been dragged down by a recent cold streak. Through the end of December, he was shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. Since then, he’s made just 11-of-48 but there’s a good chance some progression to the mean could be coming.
At this point in his career, it’s not clear what he’ll value most — a chance at another title, a chance to play a meaningful role for a good team, a chance to try and earn a role that will keep him in the NBA for another two or three years. But Kevin Love has a skill set that could be valuable to more than few contenders.
Which NBA playoff teams need Kevin Love the most?
Sacramento Kings
The Kings’ rotation is fairly guard heavy, especially as things tighten up in the playoffs. Trey Lyles has been playing a lot of minutes as the backup 4, helping space the floor around Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox and Kevin Huerter. Lyles is shooting better than Love this season but Love has a much longer and more successful track record as a high-level frontcourt shooter and his basketball IQ and passing give him more valuable.
Even if he’s just a security blanket for Lyles in case of injury or ineffectiveness, having another versatile big man to work into their rotation could be the difference between a first-round exit or a deeper run.
Golden State Warriors
JaMychal Green hasn’t worked out and trading James Wiseman has basically locked them into a playoff frontcourt rotation of Kevon Looney, Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga, with Andrew Wiggins picking up some minutes at the 4 in certain matchups. Having another big body who could bang with some other bigs in the West and burn some fouls isn’t essential but it couldn’t hurt.
The upside of Love is that he’s a fantastic passer who can function in the Warriors’ motion system from multiple places on the floor and his shooting will help open lanes for drives and cuts. For all intents and purposes, Love could function as a wing on offense in small-ball lineups but take an opposing big man at the other end, freeing up Green to roam. For a few minutes a game during the playoffs it could be a game-changer.
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns would be Love’s best opportunity at contributing to another championship. Assuming Kevin Durant is back healthy, they’re an inner-circle contender with a somewhat obvious hole in the frontcourt. T.J. Warren, Durant and Darius Bazley will likely take most of the power forward minutes and none offer the combination of experience, bulk, rebounding and spot-up shooting that Love could theoretically offer.
It might only be a situational role, a few minutes here and there in specific playoff matchups. But Love can give the Suns something they don’t currently have on the roster, something that could open their championship window a little bit wider.
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Latest NBA buyout news and rumors
With the trade deadline behind us, the buyout market is the last opportunity for teams to really tinker with their rosters. Here’s the latest on who could be available and where they’ll go: