The Cleveland Cavaliers have been on a roll lately, but with Kevin Love struggling at times to get involved in the offense and LeBron James reportedly being frustrated with Love, there is a chance the power forward could opt out of his contract as a free agent this summer and if that happens, teams like the LA Lakers, NY Knicks, Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls could target him.
Throughout the season there have been reports about Love having trouble getting involved in the offense and about his relationship with LeBron James. There have been some signs in social media from James that he has been frustrated with Love at times and earlier in the season he said his "not best friends" with James. David Blatt also said that Love is not a max player and at times he has put him on the bench late in games for defensive purposes.
All of this has led some to speculate that Love could opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent. According to Pro Basketball Talk, teams like the Knicks and Lakers are preparing as if Love will opt out and those two are expected to chase him hard if he does. Love has confections to Los Angeles and both teams will have a high amount of cap space to spend this summer. While all the stories about the relationship between the stars may not add up to much, it could be significant if Love doesn't feel this is the best situation for him.
Love will be the main target if he hits the market and the Cavaliers will likely mnot just let him go easily. There were reports that the team would look at signing Love to a max contract when he opted out or became a free agent, but no agreement can be in place before that. The Knicks would love to get a chance at Love (no pun intended), but they have been so bad there is a chance he may not even want to go there. The Lakers had been planning for years to chase Love and now they could get a chance to do it.
Love has said to the media that they have made too much of some small things, but the rumors will not go away no matter what he says. The media has been persistent and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote last week that James has been "frustrated" by Love and that only pushed the talk even more. Isola writes that Love is "viewed by some as an aloof player" and that James has been frustrated by "Love's inability.... to get with the program." Once again, all of this doesn't mean that Love is opting out, but so far it appears that Cleveland has not been the friendliest of atmospheres for Love.
James has dismissed reports of any issues with Love or his teammates this offseason, but even Kyrie Irving admitted that things have not always gone smooth this year. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Irving spoke with Cleveland.com and said that earlier in the season things were "rocky" between him and LeBron and some of the roster. Irving described that as James trying to get the team in line with a winning attitude and he admitted that the transition with James has been a tough one.
