Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love became the center of controversy after expressing his displeasure with his team. On separate occasions, Love reportedly had an emotional outburst on the bench, voiced his frustration in front of teammates and coaches, and had a heated exchange of words with Cavaliers General Manager Koby Altman. Recently, Love decided to break his silence about his recent behavior.
In an interview with ESPN , Love apologized for his actions and admitted that what he did was childish. Love said that he let his emotions get the best out of him.
“I wasn’t acting like a 31-year-old — I was acting like a 13-year-old,” Love said. “That was not me.”
Despite what happened, Love revealed that he and Altman remain on good terms, saying that their altercation was just blown out of proportion by the media. However, though he tried to address the issue as early as possible, rumors still continue to swirl around Love and his future with the Cavaliers. Speaking on The Hoop Collective podcast, Brian Windhorst of ESPN claimed that the All-Star power forward “absolutely, totally” wants to part ways with the Cavaliers.
“[Love] absolutely, totally wants to get out of there,” Windhorst said, as transcribed by CBS Sports . “It’s driven him various levels of crazy to be there this season. But there’s not that much traction in the trade [market] as far as I can tell. The Cavs are viewing it like [they’re] trading an All-Star level player. [But] the other teams are saying, ‘yeah he’s a good player, but we’re taking on this money. They think they’re bailing the Cavs out.”
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Love really feels that way. At this point in his NBA career, Love would definitely prefer to play for an NBA team that has a legitimate chance of contending for the NBA championship title than waste his prime mentoring young players on a rebuilding team like the Cavaliers. Love may not be as dominant as LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Paul George, but he would be an incredible addition to any NBA team in dire need of additional star power to have a better chance of bringing home the Larry O’Brien trophy in the 2019-20 NBA season.
In the past months, several NBA teams have already been linked to Love. These include the Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Miami Heat. Unfortunately for Love, a deal isn’t expected to happen anytime soon as interested teams are reportedly hesitant to pay the Cavaliers’ asking price.