OK, I'm going with the glass half full approach. I think Love is a proud guy at the end of the day who cares about being respected by other players, coaches, and fans. This episode with Olympic team had to be very embarassing. They didn't reach out to him - he called and asked to be on the team. After a few practices and lead-up scrimmages it became clear he wasn't anywhere close to being able to contribute and he wisely begged off before being cut. Then Coangelo came out and said he showed up out of shape and unprepared to compete. This has to be pretty embarassing.
So I'm thinking Love is going to take his preparations for this season seriously. He's not going to want to ride the bench and be kind of a joke - a guy making $30 million to dress up in a uniform and watch other guys play. He's going to want to salvage some respect and finish his career on a solid note. I could be wrong, but that's how I see it.
Love is still capable of having a 30-point, 14-rebound game like we saw against Boston on May 14. Or a 25-point game like we saw against Miami on May 1. What's more realistic is the 18/8/2 in 26 minutes against Portland on May 5. In his last five games Love was 19-for-37 on 3's (51.4%). It looked like he was getting more air under his 3's. He has a tendency to shoot them too flat.
If he gets in shape I can see him consistently playing 24 minutes with a line of 16/8/4. If Hartenstein doesn't return and Mobley spends some time at the 5 when Allen is down it would open up more minutes for Love.
I don't think Love wants to be a joke or an afterthought. This recent experience with the Olympic team had to be humiliating. He begged them for a tryout and when he showed up he was clearly out of his league. He was replaced by JaVale McGee.
I'm hoping that experience was a wakeup call. He doesn't want it repeated with the Cavaliers, where he ends up sitting the bench behind Mobley, Nance, and Wade. At this point he can no longer coast on his reputation and will have to earn his minutes. He has come to terms with the fact that he is no longer an elite player or even a 32-minute guy. But I think he wants to go out gracefully with his head high as a valuable contributor to a winning team. Maybe I'm wrong, but I expect him to come into this season on a mission.