Kevin Love has officially been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers!
Many fans and critics of the Cleveland Cavs have been eagerly waiting for August 23 to roll around just to celebrate the official trading of Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Well, that day has finally arrived, and the highly-anticipated trading of Kevin Love is now official!
Kevin Love will be playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the upcoming 2014-15 season. Kevin will not sign a long-term contract extension with the Cavs immediately, according to SB Nation . However, he more than likely will opt out of his current contract after this upcoming season and then sign a brand new max contract with the Cavaliers at that time. Instead of wearing the jersey number 42, Kevin Love is also going for a brand new look with a brand new number — 0.
Love will wear 0! Welcome to Cleveland!!! @kevinlove #KevinLove pic.twitter.com/QClLuWR23r
— CavsForever (@CavsForever_) August 23, 2014
What does this mean for the Minnesota Timberwolves? As part of a massive three-team deal, the Minnesota Timberwolves will receive three players: Thaddeus Young, Anthony Bennett, and the #1 overall pick from the 2014 NBA Draft — Andrew Wiggins. Glen Taylor, the owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, had nothing but positive things to say about the Kevin Love trade, and he wished nothing but the best for his former starting Power Forward.
According to CBS Sports , Taylor stated:
“I want to personally thank Kevin Love for his six seasons with the Wolves.”
Taylor also commented on just how much of a powerful force Kevin Love was on and off the court throughout his many seasons in Minnesota:
“On the floor, Kevin has worked hard to make himself a great player in the NBA. He also made it a priority to give back to the community…He represented the state of Minnesota well during his time with us and we wish him nothing but the best in Cleveland.”
The third team in this deal was the Philadelphia 76ers, who will receive Alexey Shved, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and Miami Heat’s 2015 first-round pick. On the other hand, what does the trading of Kevin Love mean for the Cleveland Cavaliers? Long story short, it means that LeBron James has been able to form a brand new “Big Three” in Cleveland. Therefore, the newest Big Three in the East Conference is now Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love — also known as Uncle Drew and Wes from the Pepsi Max commercials — and LeBron James.
Keep in mind that 22-year-old Irving and 25-year-old Love are still very young in the league, have a lot of good years still ahead and are reaching the formidable primes of their careers. LeBron James has already lost a lot of weight during the off-season while still staying in impeccable shape in order to keep up with this relatively young team.
Thanks to Kevin Love, LeBron James will not need to maintain the position of an aggressive and strong Power Forward like he did when he played for the Miami Heat. Kevin Love can bear that weight on his own shoulders, especially since he averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds last season alone. As soon as the trade became official, Twitter exploded with reactions from so many fans of Kevin Love, the Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers:
Well, the ink has dried. @KingJames is the going to win @NBA Executive of the Year #KevinLove
— Clarence (@Clarence_obama) August 23, 2014
#KevinLove trade done. I called this from day one. Many of U called me crazy; but that’s ok. I told U #Lebron didn’t want 2 train #Wiggins
— David Benjamin (@thetoyman1) August 23, 2014
GREAT DAY to be a Cavs fan!!! #KevinLove one question though, can he play QB for the Browns too?
— Todd Witt (@ToddWitt15) August 23, 2014
This trade with #KevinLove just made Cleveland’s bandwagon that much bigger
— Perry Lewis (@plew0818) August 23, 2014
#Cavs finally have a good power forward since Larry Nance. #KevinLove
— JOSH (@Y2Josh76) August 23, 2014
How do you feel about the Kevin Love trade? Is Cleveland going to be unstoppable next season?