didnt fact check.....but if correct....this is just ugly.....
From 2018-19 through 2020-21, the UCLA product missed 116 of 219 possible games due to injury. In that latter season, he averaged just 12.2 points on 40.9% shooting.
if the goal for the cavs is to finish 8-10....kevin love is not a problem.....tehyll get there with or wthout kevin love should everyone else remain healthy.... if the goal is the ECF....then kevin love and his 10 minutes game in the playoffs is in all likelihood a very very very big problem...
Do you see why the data skewed negative right after LeBron left? The franchise was in chaos for most of that stretch, not just one guy.
I've been among the few who preferred keeping Love through all this. I'll include a few admissions to start it out:
His deal became a bad contract as soon as he was injured in 2018. The four year contract compensated him for two years of near All Star type money with the understanding Father Time would catch up on the last two. The Cavs therefore overpaid in hindsight.
I'll also allow that he didn't take care of his body during the COVID shutdown. He needed to fail in Team USA practices to realize that taking the off-season off doesn't work at his age.
That said, as a locker room voice, he has been vastly underrated. The offense had serious issues from 2018 through the 2020/21 season. As an offensive-specialist power forward, there isn't much he can do if the coaches and young guards aren't getting him the ball when he should get it. All the while, young players loved him as the fanbase scapegoated him for not being a one on one perimeter force.
Last season, he led the team in games played. He led the second unit's offense, no matter which players were on the floor with him. The key to his rebirth last season is the growth of players around him. He needs guards who know how to get him good looks. He needs a defender like Allen or Mobley covering him defensively. He was simply worth every penny.
At this point, the idea of trading Love is a dated viewpoint. It doesn't make sense because we are the young contender who would need what Love provides. Moving him for another fading power forward in Barnes doesn't move the needle at all.