Kevin Love will be one of the most sought after free agents this summer if he chooses to opt-out of his contract at the end of the season. Unfortunately for Love, his season may be over prematurely as he suffered a separated shoulder while being tangled up with Kelly Olynyk of the Boston Celtics.
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This may turn out to play a role this summer if Love does indeed test free agency as the Celtics have reportedly closed the gap on the Los Angeles Lakers as a landing spot for Love according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:
Boston has been no sure thing to lure Love, but it had a better shot than most had believed. If Love left the Cavaliers, the Celtics had closed the gap on the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
After the game, with his arm in a sling, Love was extremely frustrated saying that Olynyk made the play on purpose and called it ‘bush league.’ If Love’s hatred of the Celtics continues, Wojnarowski believes that could play a role this off-season:
It is only natural that if Love lost something significant in Boston – his season, for instance – embracing a free-agent move to the Celtics could be complicated, if not completely compromised. Love left the Garden with legitimate loathing of the Celtics on Sunday, and how that lasts could shape the future of the Cavaliers and Celtics.
Love has long been linked to the Lakers in free agency. Every time Love’s frustrations in Cleveland have come to the forefront, rumors about him coming to Los Angeles in the summer grow louder.
The Celtics have shown that they have a foundation in place to be contenders in the near future. If Love does become available, it will be interesting to see how this play affects his feelings towards the team, and if that helps the Lakers land a big target.
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