JANUARY 23, 11:33am: There was “frustration all around” during the Cavs’ team meeting on Monday, according to Tom Withers of The Associated Press, who suggests that frustration wasn’t aimed solely at Love. In his full report on the meeting, Wojnarowski writes that various team members have received blame within factions of the locker room for the club’s struggles — Love, Isaiah Thomas, Lue, Koby Altman, and Dan Gilbert are among those targets, league sources told Woj.
JANUARY 22, 9:30pm: During an emotional team meeting, Kevin Love‘s teammates questioned whether he was truly sick when he left the Cavaliers’ 148-124 loss against the Thunder on Saturday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Love also missed Sunday’s practice and numerous teammates challenged him verbally during the meeting prior to Monday’s practice, Wojnarowski continues, citing league sources.
Love defended himself to teammates, coaches and management and there was a sense that team had worked out some issues, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter links). Love played just three minutes during the Oklahoma City debacle after complaining of dizziness and flu-like symptoms.
Clearly, there’s plenty of tension in the Cavs’ locker room as the team has gone into a deep slump. Cleveland has lost 10 of its last 14 games and there have been whispers that coach Tyronn Lue is on the hot seat.
The fact that Love’s dedication is under fire raises questions anew about his future with the club. It was reported early in the season that Cleveland would be willing to deal Love for an athletic swingman who could guard multiple positions. Love has seen a substantial amount of playing time at center this season, so potential suitors could view the natural power forward as a solution at two different spots.
Love has two years remaining on his contract after this season. He’ll make $24.1MM next season and holds a player option of $25.9MM for the 2019/20 season.
Fire Lue and get rid of the prima Donna’s who think they are owed something and I am not talking about Love
I agree 100% if he’s not going to stay he should agree to allow him self to be available in trade talks
I see no need to panic. It’s a mid-season slump.
Fight through it play like they’re supposed to and get back to the finals…. and have a shot at a championship.
Worry about next year after the playoffs are over.
They have the Nets pick and maybe, not sure, if they have their own pic? so that’s too young first-rounders, they can trade Love this summer and maybe Tristan Thompson for youth. They’ll be fine for a rebuild. They’re too good to break up now.
Not if they trade picks to make the team better this year the only real assets they have are picks
If LeBron leaves, Love is the only player they have left that anybody would want.
It’s crazy how JR Smith and Crowder have been major disappointments this year.
Lue looks terrible and always has.. as a coach that is.. he is looks as bad as Kidd
All of this turmoil, and Kevin Love is the one getting backlash from that team??
Are they too scared to challenge their own “leader” in LeBron?? He hasn’t been playing defense whatsoever, and has been stopping the flow of the offense..
It amazes me how anytime this team falters, it is always Love that is the scapegoat..What about the aforementioned LeBron, what about JR, Thompson, Crowder, Lue, or any semblance of playing team defense or a free-flowing offense…
They need to watch some game film of a COLLEGE team like Villanova or West Virginia…Two teams that consistently give 110%, play solid team defense, and they are two teams that always rotate the ball around, move without the ball, and have their off the ball players slashing to the basket for passes and offensive rebounds..
Also when a pick and roll is called, it isn’t solely those two involved, while everyone else stands around..Everyone is moving!!
This is when a leader sets an example and gives it his all to help out his team, to fire up his teammates, and to do all he can to win..MJ NEVER would have accepted such futility from hisself nor his teammates..LeBron has always had all the talent in the world, but what will always put MJ over LeBron is, not only his non-stop excellent, on-ball defense, but moreso his absolute hatred of losing..
Dude Lebron is the most overrated star the league has ever seen, he is being exposed for being the role player he is. He does not come anywhere near close to being as good as MJ. Lebron is not even better then Magic,Bird,Kobe,Duncan,Hakeem, or Shaq. And people put him in the same sentence as Michael Jeffrey Jordan? Michael was Jesus Christ.
Reason I can never take you serious.
Magic and Bird won rings there first 2 seasons and dominated their era. Lebron has never done anything significant? Hasn’t won a dunk contest let alone compete in one, why? Too much pressure no one there to bail that crybaby out. 3 rings all won with an insane amount of help and luck, he got carried to 2 rings by Kyrie and Ray. 5 Finals losses? What a joke. He will walk out in the second round this season with a leg cramp, quick get him his pacifier.
If winning a dunk contest is your criteria for greatness its hard to take you seriously.
Baby man crying about James again.
Dionis personifies what’s wrong with fans … They use their below average knowledge of history to spew ridiculous thoughts.
Magic Johnson joined a Lakers team that featured Abdul Jabbar (in his prime) and was already a title contender. He didn’t make them great; he put them over the top.
Bird joined a reeling Celtics team that had a lot go right very quickly upon his arrival. Archival finally rated healthy. Maxwell emerged. And the Celtics turned the top pick of the next draft into Parish and McHale.
LeBron basically gets sh*t on by people because he left Cleveland in 2010… because he “couldn’t do it” without help. Really- who has done it without help? Did Magic ever win with Kareem? Did Bird win without McHale? How about Jordan without Pippen? Did Kobe ever win with Smush Parker as his #2?
Give me a break those Cleveland teams were 66-16 and 61-21 the following year, the problem is your boy LeChoke could not step up and be Jordanesque because he just is not build like that. Kobe was waiting for that sucker in the Finals to show the world why he was better but Lebron got bounced out by Dwight. Following year he straight up quit on the team in Boston period, he does not play all 4 quarters and is always crying about something. Don’t ever compare Kobe to Lebron please, Kobe was a competitor from the 1st to the 4th quarter, 100 percent effort all game and never shied away from the moment. Magic was a legend and taught Isiah Thomas how to win, 5 times the leader Lebron will ever be. Stop defending Lebron, he is the most overrated star I have ever seen. And nothing you say will change that, there is always an excuse when he loses but when he wins he has to be worshipped. Keep on defending him the rest of the way because he is not winning anymore titles.
Dionis must enjoy being ignorant in public, but safely anomymous.
Not that anyone believes Dionis, but… the yearly Cavs record… most people should be able to spot a trend.
Season, record, James or not
-18 27-18 current
-17 51-31 LBJ Finals
-16 57-25 LBJ Champs
-15 53-29 LBJ Finals
-14 33-49 no
-13 24-58 no
-12 21-45 no
-11 19-63 no
-10 61-21 LBJ
-09 66-16 LBJ
-08 45-37 LBJ
-07 50-32 LBJ Finals
-06 50-32 LBJ
-05 42-40 LBJ
-04 35-47 LBJ
-03 17-65 no
Don’t forget LeBron is playing in the Eastern Conference. Mark Cuban would love to too.
Oh so you want to talk about stats huh? How about Lebron’s 8 point performance in the NBA Finals 2011? All his stats are padded in all his Finals losses. Stop giving me stats he’s 3-5 in the Finals and will never be the GOAT no matter how many numbers you want to throw in my face.
3-5 stomach that.
He would be 1-7 without Kyrie and Ray saving him in the Finals also. That is downright pitiful.
When James got the backing Kobe got, in Miami, he won 2 of 4 titles. Kobe cannot match. Dionis cannot respect, only worship or hate.
LeBron is compared to mj because Adam silver thought the league needed a “goat” at all times. The NBA is more like the wwe, and it’s gotten progressively worse. LeBron is no longer able to play well enough to have refs throw games for him, and his excuses wear thin. A team with the highest payroll in league history isn’t doing enough to help him? I wonder if people realise yet that the only reason LeBron went to Miami was so the Cavs could get better players to play along side him. Even in Miami LeBron was never the guy. The (attempted) scripted NBA is being exposed by this clown.
Well said, let’s keep exposing that fraud I can’t stand him :)
Gotta love the trolls.
LOL #smh
I find it hard to take you seriously when you talk about LeBron being overrated, then you compare Jordan to Jesus Christ – the most overrated person in history.
Lebron is overrated, I’ve seen him play his whole career. He needs established NBA scorers all over the court to get his, I’d love to see him leading Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to the #1 seed in the East the way Kyrie is right now. Oh I forgot Lebron does not play with young guys that is why he had to get Wiggins moved for Love(an all-star) because he can’t take a rookie like Wiggins under the wing like Mike did with Scottie and mold him into a winner. I watch basketball and a whole lot of it and Lebron is nowhere near Michael Jordan, keep your numbers.
6-0 in the Finals
10 time scoring champion
40+ ppg averages in the Finals
5 NBA MVP’s
2 3 peats(Could be 7-8 rings if he had never left in his prime)
Defensive Player of the Year
2 time Slam Dunk contest champion(LeChoke never participated in one because the pressure is too high)
9 time All-Defense 1st team
Catch up, in 13 years Lebron is going on 16 years and still has not been able to put together that type of resume, rest in peace.
I watched Jordan a lot. What I remember most is Jordan leaving the ground at the free throw line for a dunk during the Olympics. I think that’s when they started calling him Air Jordan. He wowed everybody. Don’t forget he won a National Championship at North Carolina. Maybe a reason he owns the Hornets now.
I feel for Love. He’s always sacrificed for the team, and taken the backlash from the fans. Take him away and see how many games the Cavs win.
West Virginia has a very stagnant zone offensive scheme which frequently leads to Jevon Carter contested off the dribble threes. You almost made it seem like you knew what you were talking about!
Trade him to the Celtics so I can have fun watching Love and Kyrie take turns torching LeChoke. Isn’t he LeChoke the leader? Where is he in the midst of all this? Love has been playing out of position all year, Altman should throw his tantrums with LeChoke, he’s the real problem.
bitter much
LeChoke isn’t even a pun. That’s just lazy. Come on Dionis. Step your game up
Pretty sure LeChoke is a French Pokémon.
Love on the Cs? Nah I’m good.
I second that KC
Yeah suuuuurrrre..blame the white guy
Whaaaaat??
Do they think white dude related to trump?:)
KLove to the Bulls for Niko!
So all of the problems they’ve had throughout this entire season 50 games in is because love is supposedly faking sick? Today??
Not Loves fault the entire team almost can’t play defense. Bunch of idiots
The biggest issue is Lue IMHO. And I concur with what posted. LeBron plays best with shooters, during the win streak Korver and Frye we’re getting about twenty each. During this last bout between them both maybe twenty. Who else beside Love has been hitting threes?
If KLove isn’t playing to his best maybe he’s depressed over the knuckleheads that aren’t prosecuting. Love has had a very good season so far.
“… what pabart posted”.
Gametime illness has happened before with Love. But it wasn’t his idea to play center. He generally outplays the opposing center (and projects well vs. GSW) but has to be wearing down.
The logical place for a trade is Portland but they’re hanging onto McCollum or bust, despite duplicating Lilliard. Love isn’t going anywhere.
Like last year, Love had trouble shooting against Golden State (out of position and power forward and only taking outside shots for Kyrie and LeBron). The Cavs fans wanted to run him out of town. Phoenix wanted Kevin lLove, but didn’t want to give up Josh Jackson. Denver wanted him, but Cleveland and Denver couldn’t give the high first pick the Pacers wanted.
Love has always played where ever they wanted him. When they wanted him to shoot 3’s, he did. wanted him to rebound, he did. It seems like whenever they lose, they had a losing record after the all-star game last season. He’s always taken the blame. LeBron had to go out to Los Angeles where Love lives to convince him to sign the contract he has now. He almost didn’t come back after his first season.
They really can’t say anything about Love leaving early. LeBron took himself out of the game early when he was only 5 points away from getting 3000 (he didn’t want to do it in a blowout, he quit).
What is wrong with that? Players come out in blowouts all the time.
Talk talk talk talk
BTW if you check the chart I posted, The Cavs do significantly better WITH James. How do you not know this. And for a GM, I would prefer him to Altman.
You worship LeBron. I admire him. Love, Kyrie are tired of his sh-t! It’s a team game. Going into the game against OKC he said he wanted to break 3000 in Cleveland with his sons in attendance. When he got his feelings hurt being blown out by 3 of his friends, he decided to sit and pout. He’s not thinking of the team, he’s thinking about himself.
The Cavs did better with Calderon on the floor because he let everybody else do what they wanted. By the way, did I mention the Cavs had a losing record after the all-star break last season. Stephen A. said today Love wants out, just like Kyrie?
The fact you watch/listen to Steven A renders your comments void.
Stephen A. is a little wild. If LeBron had played his career in the Western Conference against competition like what Michael Jordan played against, we wouldn’t be comparing them and LeBron wouldn’t have 6 finals.
If LeBron and IT leave, and they trade Love, they’ll be in real good shape.
Lol sure they would
Love is not a center. He doesn’t want to be a center. If the coach doesn’t understand that, the coach is incompetent. TT is the lazy bum who should have been called out in the meeting. They need a center….go make a deal….or suffer. The owner lit the match on this dumpster fire! Love it…..no pun intended. Celtics on the move.
Lots of drama everywhere -ason (no J) goes.
Lebron is an untouchable God.
God really? I hope you are being sarcastic he is the biggest joke the NBA has ever seen. He is so insecure, Jordan never had to throw in people’s faces how good he was neither did Kobe they just let the play do the talking. That self-absorbed baffoon only cares about himself in the midst of all the turmoil that is going on at the moment.
You are such a Lebron hatter. Calling a top 5 player of all time a joke is a joke. As for Jordan and Kobe not rubbing it in that’s also a joke. Jordan still to this talks about being the best and says he could still take on players in the league over a decade after he has stopped playing. As for Kobe he literally forced one of the greatest centers in NBA history out of LA because he wansn’t getting enough credit for how good he was.
Shaq left cause Lakers management told them they weren’t going to pay him max money since he was getting old. Jordan would destroy Lebron if he was playing right now and average 40-45 points a night in this league.
Pretending like Kobe didn’t play the biggest role in Shaq leaving is like you pretending Lebron isn’t a great player. And 50 plus year old Jordan isn’t averaging 40 a game that’s just delusional. Jordan’s the goat we all know that so I don’t see the point in you saying he would destroy Lebron. Jordan’s the best we all know but that’s not what the argument is about. The argument is that you pretend like other great players in the past didn’t have egos and for some reason you act like Lebron is a bum that can’t play and only hinders his team. You’re literally one of the only people in the world that acts a 3x champ 4x mvp that at age 33 is averaging 28-8-9 is a negative to his team and the league. Just because you don’t like the guy doesn’t mean you should ignore what is blatantly obvious that he is one of the greatest that has ever picked up a basketball.
Padded stats, he should be a 1 time champ, I don’t care about the accolades he is not a leader or true winner. I meant Jordan would average 40 -45 ppg in his prime playing in this era, he had way too much moves and footwork to not do it. Lebron does not even have go to moves, take away the traveling,referee help,push offs, and stiff arms and he averages 12 ppg.
You’re just so far objective on this it’s laughable. He’s not a true winner or leader yet he’s been the leader on every team he’s been on and won 3 championships that’s terrible logic. Oh and how should he have only one? He should have more 3 to be honest. If kyrie and love weren’t hurt in the first match up against the warriors they win that series.
But he’s the “GOAT” right? Why does he need so much to get it done? And he’s not a leader, his teammates always carry him, he can’t carry a team a win in dominant fashion. It’s always by luck or one of his teammates saving him.
I have to agree with Dionis on this one. I saw MJ when he was at North Carolina and I saw him the day he retired with the Washington (then Bullets) Wizards. I won’t speak on MJ’s personality, but he had someone stalking him everywhere he went. As a player, he was a better all around player against far superior competition than LeBron. If LeBron played in the Western Conference, he wouldn’t have made it to 6 consecutive finals.
They were the Wizards when MJ retired
Dionis
First of all I’ve already said Jordan is the goat so continuing to throw this thing of Lebron is goat at me doesn’t make sense. Second of all why do you act like the other all time greats including the goat Jordan didn’t have help from great teammates. Jordan didn’t win anything until pippin devloped into a top 50 player of all time, he also had Rodman for the second go around, and he consistently had lockdown defenders at Other poisons and great shooting. Kobe had Shaq for the first 3 titles, majic Johnson has Kareem, Larry bird had McKale and Parish. Every great player to win has had either Other all time greats on his team or an amazing cast of support players. So why do you say Lebron should win on his own when Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Kareem, and Bird didn’t win on their own.
LeBron plays against easier competition than what MJ had.
Um didn’t Lebron play against the best regular season team in nba history in the finals and win. Or what about the Celtics big 3 when Lebron was in Miami. I guess those teams are just pushovers right.
You never saw Jordan play, obviously. Jordan was every bit the narcissist that LeBron is, and a much bigger prima dona. Kobe isn’t in the same class as either, or lots of other players.
You can’t argue with a Jordan knucklehead. They’ll say anything and continue to yap yap yap about nothing but hate toward anyone that threatens the former minor league baseball player.
Even if Jordan was a narcissist he proved himself as the best. Lebron constantly loses and complains for more and more.
They do need to shake things up. Thompson needs to go, Love should b flipped, JR and Shump should b on the move, if u can get a competent PG back IT should probably go as well, Rose should b cut. Honestly the only players on the roster I feel comfortable playing against the Ws is Crowder, Korver and LeBron. Even tho Dionis thinks LeBron is a “joke”….
Stephen A. (ESPN) said today Love should be traded because he’s the only player anyone wants besides LeBron, and he doesn’t want to be there.
Cleveland sportswriter said it best. Cavs problem is LeBron and IT want to dribble, dribble, dribble, shoot, so everyone else stands around. Said Calderon and Wade should start in backcourt. IT belongs with 2nd unit. Kyrie didn’t want to play with LeBron and IT can’t.
Thats not the Cavs’ problem, they have done fine doing that. Think. If James is the only player anyone wants on the team (and nobody wants Love, they’ve already tried to trade him)– and the team is a winner– what does that say about James?
Other teams do want Love, the Lakers (he lives in L.A.), the Celtics, the Suns, I’m sure a lot of teams would Love to have him at the right price. He’s an all-star and he’s a team player. The Cavs have lost 10 of 14 and had a losing record the 2nd half of last season. “They are on the decline.” This is LeBrons fault. They have the oldest team in the NBA and LeBron recruited them all.
Why is it so many writers are saying (the Cavs players said it) that LeBron is slowing the ball holding onto it too long and they’ve even timed him to prove it? Dave Blatt said this isn’t Tyron Lue’s fault, the players have to step up. Tyron said on defense they are playing one on one, and”they have to play as a team.” I think part of the reason they did so well with Calderon on the floor was because he puts the team first.
Look at the teams LeBron faced in the Eastern Conference Finals. When he was with Miami, the Pacers were his biggest rival with George, David West, Roy Hibbert, Lance Stephenson, and George Hill. WOW! Now his biggest rival is a young Celtics. MJ had to fight Detroit (the bruise brothers with Isaih Thomas), the Celtics you know about, a good New Jersey Nets, a good Pacers team, etc. His competition was a lot more than LeBron’s. LeBron’s dynasty might have been different if he played in the Western conference. LeBron is great. KD is better. Dionis and me differ on LaVar, we agree on this one.
Stephen A. also said today J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson (who Stephen A. said hasn’t been worth squat since he became a Kardashian), Iman Shumpert (I read he may be waived when he comes back), and Channing Frye make $68 million (because LeBron went to bat for them) and nobody wants them, “Love is the only player the Cavs have besides LeBron and only player anybody wants.”
All predictably flows from the KI trade. Blame goes first to LeBron (greatest player in terms of team skills ever) for being a poor teammate with no leadership skills off it. Then to the GM, for focusing on quantity, not quality, of assets in the trade. Failing to take account of the Nets predictable rise (at least relatively), Crowder perhaps not outplaying his contract as a 3 & D guy in a new environment like he did in Boston and mostly that IT, even if healthy, could somehow (almost) replace KI for at least a year.
Now, it’s less about adding, than re-configuring. Tough with the tax situation. Love moving to center (with Frye backing him up) was what allowed them to play their best BB of the year, going like 19-1; that alone is not the problem. It’s the poor mix of players around it that ironically showed up when guys got back. Almost immediately, they need to decide if Love or TT (or a trade target) is going to be the starting center, and try to move the other(s) and – also immediately – try and obtain a defensive minded PG who isn’t ball dominant and can hit the 3 at plus level. From there you can evaluate IT (and a few other guys) over the next weeks until the deadline. Then, maybe a larger deal, but you can’t rely on that to fix the basic configuration of the team, which right now stinks.
Google-LeBron holding on to ball too long. You might be surprised what you find. If you sdaw the OKC game, you saw LeBron take a seat early in the 4th quarter only 7 points short of 3000 pouting. I don’t care what the LeBron lovers say. With what the Cavs are going through, LeBron isn’t thinking about the team. He recruited all these guys he’s playing with, and most of them are overpaid, so you can’t blame management for the personnel problems. I’ve been watching Tyron’s postgame interviews and reading Joe Vardon and Pluto from Cleveland.com. They have a good idea what’s happening!
Great players rarely make great GMs when they retire (other than J.West), why would anyone think they’d be all that good while still playing. Jordan wouldn’t have won much if the Bulls let him a select his teammates like the Cavs have let LeBron (in both tours).
The Cavs have now lost 11 of 15. They are nearing the All-Star break. They had a losing record after the All-Star break last season. It appears they are in a decline. If LeBron wants to be an owner, I hope he does a better job putting a team together than he has the Cavs.
I wish IT would have left Love alone. He had problems with teammates in Sacramento, Phoenix, and Boston.
I wonder if the Cavs would have lost this many games with Kyrie?
I doubt it. The trade emphasized stats (which can be a function of volume, and is thus team specific) over impact (which can’t be a function of volume and transcends team, except in its expression). The old adage is to focus on the best player you get because everyone will forget the rest in a few years. Here, unless the Nets’ pick hits in the top 3, everyone will forget the rest in 1 year.
The Cavs lost this trade, no doubt. Which do you think the Cavs would be better with if them complete a trade, Hill @ $20 miliion with 2 years left after this year or Tyreke Evans @ $3 million with an expiring contract. Hill has been a backup point guard this year. Evans can start 3 positions and is having a much better year than Hill..
Tired of all the Olds (cavs) drama! Bottom
Line!! The Warriors will win! Period. HaHa
Lots of finger pointing going on and I dare say mostly in the wrong direction. This team will win the ship again this season.
Make that 30,000 points. He had said he wanted to do it in front of his sons in Cleveland, but now will have to do it in San Antonio. LeBron couldn’t handle losing to 3 of his buddies.
anyone notice Crowder ignoring him on the floor as he fell looked right at him and just ignored him LOL Crowder looks very very unhappy this year as does Isaiah,, looks like KL is unhappy as well again.. The Cavs isn’t a place players wanted to go to very much,, at least till they got LJ,,