Kevin Love cannot stop the rumors. No matter what he says, everyone will assume he is preparing to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers come the offseason. Cleveland acquired Love in a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the 2014-15 season starting because the former team believed he would leave in free agency. The issue is that Love still has that opportunity despite the trade and most are suspecting an exit is in the works.
Once again, another NBA source is coming out saying Love will leave the Cavaliers in free agency. Miami Heat executive Alonzo Mourning is reporting that Love is ready to leave Cleveland at the first chance he gets and could be headed straight to the Los Angeles Lakers. Mourning told SLAM Magazine that Love is unhappy in Cleveland and ready to leave. He predicts the Lakers is where the forward lands given his West Coast connections.
Is Mourning speaking directly to Love? The nature of their relationship is unknown, but the NBA executive is simply saying what everyone has been thinking. Love's tenure in Cleveland has not exactly been smooth. The forward has struggled to find his place on the team and role in the offense alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. He was used to being the man in Minnesota and now is simply a role player in Cleveland, something that has hurt his stats most of the season.
The Love, Lakers connection is not a hard one to make. Love is a California guy who played college basketball at UCLA. Many have speculated that the Lakers or New York Knicks will be the team to land the forward. However, can Cleveland win him over with a max contract? The Cavaliers gave up two former first-round draft picks in order to acquire Love. He was not a cheap trade to make. Originally it was reported that Love verbally agreed to a contract extension with the Cavaliers made the deal as owner Dan Gilbert made it clear the forward would get a max deal. However, per NBA rules, nothing was signed which means Love can easily exit in the summer.
Love continues to maintain his commitment to the Cavaliers. The forward has said time and time again that he is playing for Cleveland and he intends to keep it that way. Does Mourning have insider knowledge that no one else knows? He could, but that will not be confirmed until the offseason.