There have been a number of rumors linking Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love to the Los Angeles Lakers as the team is believed to be the front-runner to land Love’s services. Of course there is a chance Love doesn’t even become a free agent as he may choose to opt-in to the final year of his contract.
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Even if he does opt-out, there is always the chance that Love re-signs with the Cavaliers. However, in an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, Yahoo Sports! Adrian Wojnarowski revealed that there is a legitimate fear the Love leaves this off-season, as transcribed by Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk:
He’s going to look at free agency, I think he’s going to look at other teams. He can always opt in and go into free agency next summer where there’s even a bigger pool of money. But there’s a legitimate fear within the Cavs that he will just walk.”
There will be many factors at play that will decide whether or not Love remains in Cleveland or decides to leave. He was obviously frustrated at times with his role in Cleveland, a much lesser one than he was used to in Minnesota. Not only would Love have an increased role in Los Angeles, he would also return to a familiar place as he was born in Santa Monica and went to school at UCLA.
Of course the Cavaliers are much closer to championship contention than the Lakers and a move to Los Angeles would seem like a backwards step to many. All eyes will be closely following what Love decides to do this off-season.
[divide]Lakers 2015 Exit Interviews: Mitch Kupchak