Cavs buy out Love; Heat reportedly front-runner to sign veteran
The Cleveland Cavaliers and five-time All-Star Kevin Love reached a buyout agreement, the team announced Saturday.
The Miami Heat are the front-runners to sign Love, but the veteran forward plans to speak with the Philadelphia 76ers before making a decision, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Cleveland plans to retire Love's No. 0 in the future.
"Kevin Love had an outstanding run with the Cavaliers, including memorable on-court moments, four NBA Finals appearances, and an NBA Championship in 2016," said president of basketball operations Koby Altman in a statement. "Kevin represented the organization and the city of Cleveland with the utmost charm and professionalism during his nine seasons in Northeast Ohio.
"He also embodied everything a franchise would want in a player, and the admiration and gratitude we have for him will ultimately land his jersey in the rafters of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse."
Love is in the final season of a four-year, $120-million contract he signed in 2018. He was the last remaining member of Cleveland's championship squad.
I’ll have more to say soon but want to get this off my chest.
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) February 18, 2023
To the people of Cleveland and all of Ohio. I fucking LOVE you…and always will. Thank you for everything.
More to come. #0️⃣
Love was removed from the Cavaliers' rotation in January and hasn't played in their last 11 games. The 34-year-old is averaging 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 41 games this season.
The Heat, meanwhile, have an open roster spot after trading Dewayne Dedmon to the San Antonio Spurs last week and have recently looked around for a big man, The Athletic's Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd report.
The Cavs acquired Love during the 2014 offseason after LeBron James returned to Cleveland as a free agent. They traded Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 pick in the draft that year, to the Minnesota Timberwolves to get Love.
Over nine seasons with Cleveland, Love made two All-Star games. He contributed to the franchise's title run in 2016 as the third-leading scorer behind James and Kyrie Irving.