The Suns have emerged as one of the clubs interested in Kevin Love in case he completes a buyout with the Cavaliers, as per insights from Brian Windhorst of ESPN during his appearance on Pardon the Interruption (YouTube link).
As Windhorst highlighted, Love shared the court with Suns’ basketball operations chief James Jones during Cleveland’s championship triumph in 2016, thereby establishing a prior connection. Furthermore, Love also teamed up with Kevin Durant and Chris Paul on the 2012 USA Olympic squad that went unbeaten in London.
Phoenix currently possesses an available roster slot and both their taxpayer mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, providing the potential to extend a contract surpassing the minimum salary to Love if they choose to do so.
As disclosed by Windhorst, Love sought a buyout due to underutilized playing time, having remained inactive for the last 12 games. Though the Cavs were reportedly hesitant about the request, their successful 9-3 record during Love’s absence deterred them from altering the winning formula.
Following the buyout news, several teams reached out to Windhorst for insights on the seasoned center, indicating a notable level of interest despite his dip in performance this season — Love currently registers career lows in points (8.5), rebounds (6.8), and minutes per game (20.0). A thumb injury, now healed, hampered his efficiency as evidenced by his lowest field goal percentage (.389) and three-point percentage (.354) since the 2012/13 season when the now 34-year-old was sidelined for 18 games due to injury.
Windhorst also mentioned that the Heat have shown keen interest in Love, but the prospect of facing Miami in the initial playoff round poses a conflict of interest — compensating Love to potentially bolster a direct Eastern Conference competitor seems counterproductive. Thus, Windhorst speculates on potential negotiations from the Cavs to steer Love towards a Western Conference contender instead.
Image Source: Kevin Love @ Instagram
