Kevin Love, power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 5th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Shortly after draft night, Love was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins. It wasn’t long before the former UCLA Bruin standout started making waves in the pros.
In his 2008 NBA Summer League debut, Love led all players in rebounding — a feat that foreshadowed his future of glass cleaning in the big leagues. On October 29 of that same year, Love took the NBA floor for the first time. As a bench player at the time, the 6-foot-10 rebounding machine put up 12 points and nine rebounds in a 98–96 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Love quickly became an important piece of the Timberwolves’ game plan in those days. During his 2010-11 season with Minnesota, the (now) four-time All Star posted some of the best statistical figures of his career, averaging 20.2 points on career-highs from the field (47%) and three-point line (42%), 15.2 rebounds (career-high), and 2.5 assists in 35.8 minutes per outing.
On August 23 of 2014, the Timberwolves traded Love to the Cavs in a three-team deal. Since then, his career has prospered even further. As most hoops fans know, Love and the Cavs claimed the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2016, ending the city of Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought in epic come-from-behind fashion.
The Cavs look a bit different now, though. After trading Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics last month, the team could be looking to utilize Love’s unique talents more often in the upcoming season. In fact, ESPN’s Zach Lowe says the Cavs are re-designing their offense to feature Love at the center position on occasion.
“Playing alongside two pick-and-roll maestros transformed Love into a third wheel, just as Chris Bosh warned,” Lowe writes in his recent article. “He was a glorified Ryan Anderson at times, chilling along the 3-point arc while LeBron and Irving ran the show. He became a different player. The Cavs bristle at the idea that he became a worse player. They are confident Minnesota Love still exists, and they are re-designing their offense — and potentially their rotation, featuring more of Love at center — to unleash him again.”
Will Love, now 29 years of age, be able to post Timberwolves-like numbers for the Cavs in their new game plan? Does ‘Minnesota K-Love’ still exist? Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue certainly thinks so.
“Kevin is going to have the best year that he’s had here,” Coach Lue told ESPN.com this week. “I thought he was great anyway. You keep bringing up Bosh. What did Bosh average in Miami? Kevin averaged almost 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds) with two other All-Stars. If you are on a championship-caliber team, you have to sacrifice. But this year is going to be a big opportunity for him. We’re going to play through him more. He’s going to get those elbow touches again.”
Coach Lue makes a valid point. Playing alongside two other All-Stars would simply equate to fewer touches for any player. Despite that fact, Love has still managed to average a double-double since joining the Cavs, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.