The star whose role will « shrink » next season
Age and decline are inevitable data for any top athlete, unfortunately. A former All-Star is paying the price, and the reduction in his role for next year only confirms this trend …
Not easy, to last at the top. Stacking All-Star Games, All-NBA selections and high-sounding stat sheets isn’t for everyone, and it’s best to capitalize on your best years before the inevitable decline. A sad observation that Kevin Love has been living head-on for several seasons now.
3rd thief of the Big Three in one of the most famous titles in history, the 32-year-old drags his misery in Cleveland, between injuries, irregularity in attitude and drop in productivity. Despite his selection for the Olympics with Team USA, which will give him a nice breath of fresh air, the native of Santa Monica should not see his situation improve next year.
Chris Fedor from cleveland.com has already announced that the role of Love, who played 24.9 minutes per game over the past season (his lowest total in his career), will decrease further:
Love’s allotted playing time is expected to shrink, and some in the franchise are wondering if Larry Nance Jr. is not performing better when he’s playing around 25 minutes.
Everything will obviously also depend on the choice of the Cavs in the Draft, they who inherited a nice 3rd pick in the lottery. The name of Evan Mobley makes them soft eyes, but the arrival of the former USC could well be a traffic jam at the position of strong-winger, and pose new concerns with Love in particular.
Obviously, there remains the hypothesis of a trade, regularly mentioned for many months by insiders around the franchise. The problem ? Love’s contract, still paid around 30 million per year until 2023. It is a lot, if not too much to find a taker, unless you absorb another contract-ball in return.
The track of a transfer remains clearly possible, but do not be surprised if K-Love continues the adventure in Cleveland, for lack of anything better. From this perspective, its role will be reduced in order to promote the development of a young and dynamic group, in which it no longer necessarily always has its place.
Kevin Love knows what to expect next year: off the bench, more than he’s ever known in his life. What perhaps to strengthen its inclinations to trade.
