@gourimoko, I am on my way out the door so I can respond more in full later but here's the gist.
No. You absolutely do not need to handle him with kid gloves. Also, I have said repeatedly that I don't feel he is playing up to his potential. Not anywhere close to it for most of the year, although he is a lot closer over the last month than he was before that.
Agreed.
The two things I take issue with are the dismissal of him as a superstar type player,
Is this without basis? I mean, Chris Webber made this exact same point about Kevin Love. He's not playing like a superstar this year. Comparing him to guys who are right below that superstar-level, it's hard to make the case.
Is he better than Jimmy Butler, Serge Ibaka, or Klay Thompson? I'm not saying he is or isn't, but the difference between these guys,
this season, isn't that high.
and the comparison to Wiggins.
Love will
always be compared to Wiggins, for the rest of his career. It isn't just on this board.
As for the Wiggins comparison, I have no interest in beating a dead horse. I've gone over it a million times. But the long and short of it is Wiggins has free reign to shoot and is their number one option on offense, while Love is a cog in a wheel and is learning to be that. Just like Bosh had to learn. And what if the roles were reversed? I am very confident that Wiggins would be struggling just as hard as Love here, probably worse. And Love would be putting up his superstar numbers in MIN.
I highly doubt the bolded is true. I see no basis for it at all. I think Wiggins would have thrived here alongside Irving and LeBron.
I think, rather than saying "Wiggins wouldn't have thrived here," let's look at what he is doing where he's at.
Yes Love put up superstar numbers last year. And this year, he's not. But it's more complex than just saying, well, he's adjusting and getting fewer shots, I think.
My personal concern was that he's been playing with a bad back, perhaps for months. But I have no idea if that's the case or not.
And as for the dismissal of his superstar ability, there is a HUGE difference between Waiters, Thompson, Kyrie and the others you mentioned. Body of Work. Kevin has it, they don't.
Wait what?
Kevin has
nothing that Kyrie doesn't. In his "body of work" he never went to the playoffs; not once. I'd take Kyrie Irving over Kevin Love any day of the week.
Kyrie is thriving in our new system and proving to be the future of the franchise. While Love is being called a "specialist" by some really great former players whose opinions are widely respected.
Again in the interest of time, we have multiple seasons of proof of what Kevin can do. Not those other guys, save Kyrie now.
So that means they are open to criticism?
This seems so backwards to me. Why criticize the developing guy on his rookie deal and not the guy aiming to get a max contract? Why criticize the rookie you drafted before the guy with the supposed "body of work?"
Personally, I think everyone should be open to criticism, especially guys who you're thinking of signing to a max contract.
If Kevin Love does opt-in and is still playing next season as he is, it wouldn't be wise not to reevaluate the situation (from both sides).
Also, you take issue with his 43% FG. His career is 44%.
His career is 45%, not 44%.
His career best was 47%. Also, he's shooting better from 3pt range than he is from the floor in general over the last month.
I'm more concerned with discussing his performance over the season, not just the last month. But in general, his numbers across the board are down from last year (per/36, per/100p); and that's fairly concerning.
I do think he needs more touches, and better looks.
There is room for improvement there yes, but he's been dominant for years at similar shooting numbers for what that's worth.
Kevin Love has had 3 exceptional years out of 7. He's always been a great rebounder. I think he's a great basketball player, in general. Although with that said, I don't think it's fair to discount this season in favor of past ones.