The summer of 2014 was a turning point for Cleveland. Then came the biggest free agent signing in franchise history: LeBron James returned to the Cavaliers with a salary of $42 million a year. Well, exactly nine years ago, on August 23, a “great trio” was formed on the team: Kevin Love joined the group of Bron and Kyrie Irving. Let’s remember how it was.
Season 2013/2014. For Cleveland, it was even sadder than two or three before. Owner Dan Gilbert planned that in that championship his team would take a step towards the long-awaited exit to the playoffs, but this, unfortunately, did not happen. The Cavs tried to salvage the season but lost 11 of 15 games after signing Spencer Howes at the deadline. The deal to acquire Luol Deng also fell through, and Cleveland came within 18 losses of a 50% win rate.
The leadership was in trouble. General manager David Griffin was preparing to be fired. Coach Mike Brown also began to fear that he would be ousted at the end of his rookie season. Gilbert’s patience was at zero: things were almost worse than after a series of 26 losses in the 2010/2011 season. The Cavaliers were preparing to enter the draft lottery for the fourth time in a row.
And then the management decided: now or never. The time has come for a massive restructuring, but at the same time in the short term. The Love trade should be the first big step to precede and, above all, facilitate LeBron’s return.
At that time Kevin was 25 years old. He spent six seasons with the Timberwolves, where he was sent from Memphis immediately after the 2008 draft, in which the player was selected with the fifth number. At Minnesota, he was a three-time All-Star, was named to the symbolic second five twice, was recognized as the most developed player and the season leader in rebounding.
kevin love
Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
For a year and a half, the Cavaliers were in regular contact with Minnesota. Management knew that after Love didn’t get the extension he wanted in 2011, he would sooner or later leave the Timberwolves. But the 2013/2014 season was one of the best of his career. In addition, the player only had one year left on his contract. The leaders of his then-team hoped he would not leave without compensation and were open to offers.
As many as 12 organizations turned to Minnesota for love. And further in terms of negotiations, the Warriors were able to get the player even before the Cavaliers could make the best offer on him.
But Cleveland was lucky to win the draft lottery that year. The team got a valuable asset that could be included in a deal with the Timberwolves – this is the first pick in the draft = Andrew Wiggins from 2014. If it weren’t for this, then for Love they would probably have to give Kyrie Irving, which the Cavaliers They tried to avoid it by all means.
However, it was with Wiggs that there was a time lag by which Cleveland might miss Kevin. Under NBA rules, a player cannot be traded within 30 days of signing his rookie contract. This meant that we would have to wait until the end of the summer, or rather, until August 23.
But here the Clevelands were lucky again. First, neither Golden State nor any other franchise could negotiate a trade with Minnesota. Second, in mid-July, LeBron returned to the Cavaliers. And the same day he signed a new contract, James decided to call Love and personally invite him to the team.
kevin love
Photo: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
“It had a huge impact on my decision. I knew the Cavaliers had a lot of young players, a lot of talented players. I knew the city relatively well, but LeBron’s call had a big impact on me,” Kevin admitted.
Soon Cleveland began negotiations with the player. He promised that he would not leave the team after the expiration of his current contract (ie, one year after the trade), and the Cavaliers in return promised to give him $120 million over five years. Of course, unofficially, these types of deals are prohibited by NBA rules, in case of violation of which the league could veto the trade.
But Love wanted to be on the same team as LeBron, and the desire was mutual. When James made his first public statement since he returned to Cleveland, he made it clear:
“If he joins us, I will be very happy. I’m not even worried about 26 points and 12 rebounds (which Love averaged at the end of the 2013/2014 season. Approx. “Championship”), but about his basketball IQ. It is very, very tall. I had the opportunity to spend 32 days with Kevin at the 2012 Olympics. He has played a huge role for our team…he is a great addition.”
Two weeks later came August 23. Wiggins was finally available for trade, and Cleveland finally officially announced the signing of Love. In order to reach an agreement with Minnesota, a third team, Philadelphia, had to participate in it.
Details of the trade from Kevin Love to Cleveland:
Cleveland got: Kevin Love (Minnesota); Minnesota got: Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett (both Cleveland), Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia) and a $6.3 million waiver; Philadelphia received: Luca Mba a Mute, Alexei Shved (both Minnesota) and a first-round pick in the 2015 draft.
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That day, the Clevelands went from lottery team to contender. And after the results of the 2014/2015 season, the Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007. There the Warriors were waiting for them – this was the first of four consecutive final meetings between these teams. And the victory still went to Golden State. Without Love and Irving injured during that tiebreaker, the Cavs fell 2-4 in the series.
But a year later they managed to take revenge. LeBron and company didn’t just beat the Warriors, who were 73-9 in the regular season. They came back from 1-3 in a series whose heroes, of course, were James and Irving. Then Love showed far from his best game, especially after suffering a serious concussion in the second game. But in the end, he was the one who stopped Steph Curry from hitting the deciding 3-pointer in Game 7.
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So the Cavaliers won their first championship. They were set to aim for the second, but that summer Golden State signed Kevin Durant, so Cleveland’s two subsequent entries to the NBA Finals were unsuccessful. Eventually, James left the team, and Irving followed suit a year later. But Love stayed.
He said goodbye to the organization just past the deadline. Over the past four seasons, the number of minutes he’s been awarded has gradually dwindled, and over time, the big man eventually dropped out of the rotation. He missed 12 straight games before being ejected.
As a result, the 34-year-old Love joined Miami, where he will stay until at least next summer. The Heat recently signed him to a two-year extension with a player option for a second.
Here is the story behind one of the most high-profile exchanges of the decade. Think that nine years have passed since it was held! Now that the era of Love in Cleveland has sadly come to an end, those four triumphant years will forever go down in basketball history. And Kevin Wesley Love will be an integral part of it.
