Central Notes: Love, Pacers, Forman, Nance

The Cavaliers continue to value Kevin Love highly and don’t regret giving him a four-year, $120MM contract extension, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Love’s attitude and play improved once J.B. Bickerstaff replaced John Beilein as head coach after the All-Star break. The Cavs don’t feel the need to dump salary this offseason, Fedor continues, so in any Love deal they’d want some combination of draft picks and young players.

We have more from around the Central Division:

  • The coronavirus pandemic could impact renovations planned for the Pacers‘ Bankers Fieldhouse prior to next season’s All-Star game, Scott Agness of The Athletic writes. Some work has already begun but the renovations were scheduled to ramp up once the season ended. Phase one (of three) is supposed to be completed before the All-Star Game but if Indiana’s games resume this season and last into July, it could impact those scheduled renovations prior to next season.
  • Bulls GM Gar Forman has essentially been reduced to a lead scout, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The franchise is expected to overhaul its front office once the league shutdown is lifted. Forman will lose his GM title and will have no decision-making authority once the restructuring is completed, Cowley adds.
  • Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr. is especially concerned about COVID-19 due to other health factors, as Kelsey Russo of The Athletic explains. Nance was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as a teenager. Since the illness is treated with immunosuppressive medication, he is more susceptible to infections in general. “You’d hear every now and again somebody say like, ‘Oh we’re blowing this out of proportion, it’s not that big of a deal.’ And for me, it was like, ‘What?’ This is a huge deal,” Nance said.
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