Getty Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have officially parted ways with the final member of the 2016 championship squad. After enduring the highs of the mid-2010s and the lows of the half-decade to follow, Kevin Love departed Cleveland after agreeing to a buyout with the Cavaliers.
And following the completion of the buyout on Saturday, Love broke his silence on the move on social media.
“I’ll have more to say soon but want to get this off my chest,” Love tweeted. “To the people of Cleveland and all of Ohio. I f***ing LOVE you…and always will. Thank you for everything.”
Shortly after, Cavaliers GM Koby Altman also published his own message on Love’s departure, guaranteeing Love a place among the Cavaliers’ most storied legends.
“He also embodied everything a franchise would want in a player, and the admiration and gratitude we have for him will ultimately land his jersey in the rafters of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse,” Altman’s message read in part.
No. 0 ❤️
Love plans to sign with the Miami Heat, joining the Cavs’ conference rival despite earlier reports that the Cavs were “discussing” ways to keep Love from going to South Beach.
Not the First Guarantee to a Departed Cavaliers Player
It’s not the first time a member of the Cavs front office has made such a bold declaration concerning one of its dearly departed members.
When LeBron James left the Cavaliers in 2010, owner Dan Gilbert famously promised that the suddenly LeBron-less Cavs would win a ring before James and his new team — coincidentally also the Heat — did.
“I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE,” Gilbert’s statement read in part.
Needless to say, that didn’t quite pan out.
James did help bring a title to Cleveland, though. Forming a big three with Kyrie Irving and Love, the Cavaliers were an Eastern Conference powerhouse until James left Lake Erie for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018.
Since then, Love has seen the Cavaliers pull off an impressive rebuild. After hitting on draft picks in Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, shrewdly landing Jarrett Allen in the initial James Harden-Brooklyn Nets trade, and then going all in for Donovan Mitchell this summer, the Cavaliers now boast one of the league’s more intriguing teams. In addition, Cleveland enters this year’s All-Star Break with both a top-ten defense and offense, which usually bodes well for a team’s playoff chances.
Love Wants to Contribute to Playoff Team
It comes as little surprise that Love wanted out of Cleveland. Despite his announced admiration for the Cavs, Love wasn’t seeing the floor much lately. In each game of Cleveland’s recent seven-game win streak, Love was a coach’s decision DNP.
Miami, though, can offer Love at least a modicum of playing time as the team looks to pad its frontcourt depth and shooting.
As Shams Charania noted, that’s likely why Love decided to join the East’s sleeping giant.
“The Miami Heat have emerged as leaders to sign five-time All-Star Kevin Love after he completes buyout with Cleveland, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Interested teams believe Miami’s ability to offer a defined role and playoff positioning are leading factors,” Charania tweeted Saturday morning.