All things considered, Kevin Love has had a relatively noteworthy start to the 2021-22 season. The fact that he’s still healthy is already worth mentioning on its own. Nevertheless, the five-time All-Star has lost his starting spot to Cavs rookie Evan Mobley and by the looks of it, Love isn’t too stressed about it right now.
When asked to give his assessment of Cleveland’s third overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Love had nothing but praise for Evan Mobley:
“He’s going to be a guy who’s going to get a double-double every night,” Love said, via Chris Fedor of cleveland.com. “He’s got a huge future in front of him. He’s going to make a number of All-Defensive teams in his career. He’s just getting started.”
Love has been around the game enough to be able to recognize talent when he sees it. Clearly, he believes that Mobley has a very bright future ahead of him.
In his first three starts for the Cavs, Mobley has averaged 15.7 points (on 56.3 percent shooting), 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.3 blocks in 35.3 minutes per game. The sample size may be small, but it looks like the 20-year-old has adjusted to life in the NBA pretty well.
Love, on the other hand, has become a very expensive bench player for the Cavs. His future in Cleveland is anything but guaranteed at this point, and it feels like it’s going to be a bumpy ride for him the rest of the way.