Now that the Kevin Love trade is official and his introductory press conference is behind him, the pressure is on for Love, LeBron and the rest of the Cavaliers to compete for an NBA Championship this coming season. Here’s the latest news about the former Timberwolves star:
- Wolves owner Glen Taylor said that if he could do things over again, he would have signed Love to a five-year, maximum salary contract back in 2012, as Derek Wetmore of 1500 ESPN Sportswire details.
- Taylor thinks that Love’s defensive deficiencies will be exposed in Cleveland, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Taylor said, “I think where maybe he got away with some stuff not playing defense on our team, I’m not sure that’s how it’s going to work in Cleveland. I would guess they’re going to ask him to play more defense and he’s foul prone.”
- In the same article, Taylor also thinks that Love may take the blame if the Cavs struggle. “I question Kevin if this is going to be the best deal for him because I think he’s going to be the third player on the team,” Taylor said. “I don’t think he’s going to get a lot of credit if they do really well. I think he’ll get blame if they don’t do well. He’s around a couple guys that are awful good.”
- Shortly after LeBron James signed with the Cavs, he called Love, writes Tim Warsinskey of the Star Tribune. Of the call, Love said, “LeBron had signed to come back to the Cleveland Cavaliers and just few hours later he called me, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m in. James signing had a lot to do with my decision [to want to go to Cleveland].’’
- Love admits his lack of playoff experience will be an adjustment that he’ll have to make with the Cavs, and the pressure will be much greater in Cleveland than in Minnesota, writes Chris Fedor of the Plain Dealer.