Kevin Love was unsurprisingly an early topic of conversation between Cavs GM David Griffin and new coach David Blatt, as Tim Warsinskey of the Star Tribune passes along.
“Kevin Love [is] a player who quite frankly fits us as well as any player possibly could,” Griffin said Tuesday. “The very first thing David Blatt said was, ‘I need a spacing big. Somebody who can shoot and pass and who knows how to play.’ We said, ‘We have one in mind. His name is Kevin Love, he’s a trade target.’ He said, ‘If you could get Kevin Love to go with LeBron James, you would have had a really good offseason.’ ”
Cleveland’s offseason has indeed been “really good,” and then some, but whether it translates into a championship and sustained success remains to be seen. There’s more on the Cavs amid the latest from the Central Division:
- Love’s commitment to the Cavs is really more of a commitment to playing with James, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes as he explains the reasons why Love isn’t signing an extension with Cleveland. Love is excited about having star teammates who can help him win, and with James possessing the ability to opt out after this coming season, Love isn’t about to give up his ability to do the same, Windhorst explains.
- Jodie Meeks confirms a report from the start of free agency that there were several teams interested in him, but he prioritized taking the first worthwhile offer, as he tells Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Meeks hopped the first flight out to meet with Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy the morning after Van Gundy called to make his pitch, as Langlois chronicles, and the sides had their deal on the first day of free agency.
- Ben Golliver of SI.com lauds the Bucks for having been willing to take on Jared Dudley‘s salary to land a first-round pick in Tuesday’s trade. Golliver gives Milwaukee an A+ largely for coming away with the draft choice even though it’s likely to come at the back end of the first round.