On Tuesday, Kevin Love agreed to a contract extension worth $120 million over the next four seasons. Since LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on July 1st, the Cavaliers’ future has been in doubt. Would Cleveland blow up the team and descend into a full-blown rebuild? Or would they attempt to compete for a playoff spot? Love’s extension clearly answers that question.
The Cavs are now committed to Love through the 2022-2023 season, when he will be 33 years old. Love is still in his prime, but he is nearing its end, as he will turn 30 in September. He doesn’t fit with a rebuilding team, and if the Cavaliers were in that position, Love would only hurt their efforts.
Due to the Kyle Korver trade in 2017, the Atlanta Hawks own Cleveland’s 2019 first-round pick if it falls outside of the top 10. If the Cavs make the playoffs, their selection will go to Atlanta. If the wine and gold wanted to keep their pick this year, they not only would not have extended Love, but they would have also traded him.
If the Cavaliers’ 2019 pick doesn’t convey, their 2020 selection will go to Atlanta with the same restrictions, followed by second-rounders over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The 2019 draft class is supposed to be rather weak, with the 2020 class a polar opposite. Perhaps Cleveland just wants to give up their pick this year in order to secure their selection next year.
In the meantime, the Cavs will be attempting to make the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. It will be an uphill battle, because although the Eastern Conference doesn’t have the heavyweight teams that the West does, the fight for the final two seeds will be difficult.
Boston, Indiana, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington should all easily make the postseason. Atlanta, Brooklyn, Chicago, New York, and Orlando should all be lottery teams. That leaves two playoff spots open, and Cleveland, Charlotte, Detroit, and Miami to battle over them.
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The Hornets have gone 36-46 in each of the past two seasons. They traded Dwight Howard for Timofey Mozgov in the offseason and acquired Miles Bridges through the draft. Charlotte may improve, but they shouldn’t be viewed as a favorite to make the postseason.
The Pistons finished 39-43 last year, and have made the playoffs only once in the past nine seasons. Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin form a great frontcourt duo when Griffin is healthy, but aside from that, not much else. New head coach Dwayne Casey should be an upgrade over Stan Van Gundy, but it’s hard to see Detroit doing much this year.
The Heat sneaked into the playoffs with a 44-38 record, but won only one game against the 76ers in the first round. Getting shooting guard Dion Waiters back will be a nice boost, and Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, James Johnson, Justise Winslow, and Hassan Whiteside form a solid core. Miami won’t be able to challenge Philly, Boston, or Toronto for the East crown, but they should be able to make the playoffs.
And then there’s Cleveland. At this point, the Cavs will be fielding the exact same team that won 50 games last season and was swept in the NBA Finals by Golden State, but with three major differences.
The first is that LeBron James is now in Los Angeles, completely shifting the paradigm of the organization. The Cavaliers are no longer an NBA Finals contender, and it will take everything they have to just make the postseason simply because of James’ departure.
The second is the loss of forward Jeff Green. He would not have drastically affected Cleveland’s title chances had he returned, but he played a major role for the team last season, averaging 10.8 points in 23.4 minutes per game. He played both forward positions and was given the assignment of defending the opposing team’s best scorer. His loss makes the Cavs worse, but it will give younger players like Cedi Osman more opportunities.
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The third is the addition of rookie point guard Collin Sexton. Defense, tenacity, and effort are three things that the Cavaliers of recent have lacked, and Sexton has all three attributes in abundance. His work ethic is unrivaled and he is a true leader on and off the court. At only 19 years old, Sexton is already a fantastic scorer. He played extremely well in the NBA Summer League, showing off his extraordinary slashing ability and excellent defense. He is not a great outside shooter at this point, but if he can learn a thing or two from Kyle Korver, he will be a rookie of the year candidate and a future All-Star.
While Sexton, Osman, Larry Nance Jr., Rodney Hood, and others will be key to the Cavaliers making or missing the playoffs, the most important piece of that puzzle is undoubtedly Love.
Love hasn’t been fantastic as a member of the wine and gold, but he did have his most efficient season in Cleveland last year. He averaged 17.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 28 minutes per game, while shooting 46% from the field and 42% from beyond the arc. He did that while being the second offensive option behind LeBron James, and he played his first four years as a Cavaliers behind James and Kyrie Irving.
The last time that Love was the primary scorer on a team, he was simply dominant. In 2013-2014 for the Minnesota Timberwolves, he averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 36.3 minutes per game. He shot 46% from the field and 38% from three-point range.
Love was 25 at the time, and no one knows how will will respond to being “the guy” once again. It’s unlikely that he will play 36 minutes again, but an increase in touches is definitely in his future.
Four years ago, if someone said that by 2018, Kevin Love would be the only player remaining of Cleveland’s “Big 3”, they would have been laughed at. But here we are. The Cavs are Kevin Love’s team now, and this upcoming season will at least be entertaining.
