Kevin Love Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Rumors: Love, Raptors, Stevens

May 3rd, 2015 at 4:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Love has a complicated relationship with LeBron James but there’s a good chance that he will remain with the Cavaliers even if he opts out of the final year of his contract this summer, according to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. James has not spoken to Love about his future plans but said that Love is focused on recovering from shoulder surgery rather than his free-agency options, Finnan adds. Early indications are that Love wants to remain in Cleveland, though Love would draw significant offers on the market despite the injury he suffered during the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Finnan contends. Love has already proven his quality and his potential suitors will look at that rather than being overly concerned about his recovery, Finnan adds.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews would be a good fit for the Raptors, Doug Smith of the Toronto Sun opines in his weekly mailbag. Matthews, an unrestricted free agent this summer, averaged 15.9 points this season until he suffered a season-ending Achilles’ tendon injury. Toronto should not overspend this summer on the market, even though it also needs help in the frontcourt as well as the wing positions, because it will need plenty of salary-cap room in the summer of 2016, Smith continues. The Raptors should also be patient with center Jonas Valanciunas, Smith argues, pointing out that other top-caliber centers such as Joakim Noah, Roy Hibbert, Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol need time to develop.
Brad Stevens has made such a strong impression in his first two seasons with the Celtics that other teams are looking at college coaches much differently when shopping for a new head coach, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reports. Stevens’ poised, professional approach to the job, as well as the way he has bonded with younger players and built relationships with veterans, has made it more palatable for NBA teams to look at top-level college coaches, Washburn continues. It paved the way for the Thunder to hire Florida’s Billy Donovan and strongly consider Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie even though the team is in a win-now mode, Washburn adds. Stevens had the benefit of being handed a younger club without many older players to challenge him in the locker room but his transition to the pros has still been an eye-opener, Washburn concludes.

Central Notes: Middleton, Love, Butler

May 2nd, 2015 at 10:59am CST by Eddie Scarito

Bucks‘ swingman Khris Middleton wishes to return to Milwaukee next season, Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel relays (Twitter links). “I hope to be back here,” Middleton said. “I feel we have a great young team, going in the right direction.” The 23-year-old can become a restricted free agent this offseason provided the Bucks tender him a qualifying offer worth $2,725,003. Middleton also noted that he wouldn’t want negotiations between he and Milwaukee to become drawn out, and referenced Eric Bledsoe and the Suns’ dealings from last summer, Gardner adds. “That’s a terrible situation,” said Middleton. “It worked out for him but it’s something I’d rather not be in.”

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

The dislocated shoulder that knocked Kevin Love out of action for four to six months also ruined his chance at redeeming what the forward termed a “so-so” first season with the Cavs, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes.
Bulls‘ swingman Jimmy Butler‘s uncanny ability to accept criticism from his coaches without reacting emotionally is a major reason that the 25-year-old has matured into a star player in the NBA, Eric Weiss and Kevin O’Connor of DraftExpress write in their profile of player. Butler will become a restricted free agent this summer if Chicago tenders him a qualifying offer of $4,433,683.
The Cavs have already begun recruiting Love to remain in Cleveland with their statements about how much the big man will be missed now that he is out for the remainder of the playoffs, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. The scribe cites comments like ones made by guard Kyrie Irving, who said, “When one of your brothers goes down, there’s a piece of us that went with him.”

Central Notes: Love, Bucks, Cavs

April 30th, 2015 at 8:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There’s little doubt that the Cavs would offer a maximum-salary deal to Kevin Love if he were to opt out this summer, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. That’s in spite of Love’s shoulder injury and a report in March from ESPN colleague Chris Broussard, who said that rival executives had begun to question whether Cleveland would shell out the max for the power forward.

Here’s the latest from the NBA’s Central Division:

The Bucks‘ hard-nosed defensive style is a direct reflection on coach Jason Kidd‘s influence and personality, Teddy Greenstein of The Chicago Tribune writes. Not only has Milwaukee upped its win total by 26 from the previous season, the team improved from last in the league in defensive efficiency in 2013/14 to second overall this season, Greenstein notes. “He [Kidd] came in with the philosophy of: If you don’t play defense, you won’t play,” forward Jared Dudley said.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said he would step into negotiations personally with the intent of getting a deal done fairly quickly to finance a new downtown Milwaukee arena for the Bucks, Don Walker of The Journal Sentinel writes. “We appreciate the governor’s leadership and commitment to taxpayers throughout this process and look forward to further progress,” said Bucks President Peter Feigin.
The loss of Love for the remainder of the playoffs removes much of the pressure for the Cavs and LeBron James to bring an NBA title to Cleveland this season, Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes.
If the Cavs are able to advance deep into the playoffs without Love in the lineup it could alter the franchise’s bargaining stance with the forward, Tom Ziller of SBNation writes. The reverse will also hold true, and if the franchise struggles mightily it will serve to reinforce Love’s value to the squad as a floor-stretcher and rebounder, Ziller adds.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Kevin Love Out For Rest Of Playoffs

April 29th, 2015 at 9:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 9:52pm: Love underwent successful surgery this afternoon to repair his dislocated left shoulder, the Cavaliers announced. The estimated recovery time for Love will be four to six months.

TUESDAY, 11:09am: Kevin Love is “highly unlikely” to return at any point in the postseason, Cavs GM David Griffin said today, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tweets. The damage to his injured left shoulder was extensive, and surgery is an option, Griffin added, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (on Twitter). It’s a devastating blow for the Cavs and for Love, who can opt out of his contract this summer. The team can’t sign a player to replace him for the postseason, since the last day of the regular season was the final day for signings. Griffin added that there’s no possibility that Anderson Varejao, who tore his Achilles tendon in December, will come back during the playoffs to offset the loss of Love, tweets Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

The injury occurred when Kelly Olynyk hooked Love’s arm as they chased a loose ball in Sunday’s Game 4 of Cleveland’s first round series against the Celtics. In layman’s terms, Love suffered a shoulder dislocation, torn ligaments and a torn labrum, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. It threw not only the postseason but the long-term future into flux, as Love went from a growing affection for Boston as a possible free agent destination to a “legitimate loathing” of the Celtics on Sunday, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote. Love called Olynyk’s move a “bush-league play” as the All-Star power forward spoke to reporters shortly after the game Sunday.

Love said in January that he planned to opt in and take his $16.744MM salary for next season, but teams that have looked into the possibility of signing him have been convinced that he’ll “minimally explore” the market, according to Wojnarowski. Some executives are reportedly questioning whether the Cavs would give Love a max deal, with a starting salary of an estimated $19MM, if he were to opt out. Love would nonetheless be at the forefront of the Lakers’ plans if he became available, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding wrote, and surely others would value Love highly even though he’s coming off a down season in which he failed to mesh with the Cavaliers on the court.

The injury complicates the future for the Jeff Schwartz client, and it would seemingly be even more troublesome if it requires surgery. It would probably make it a safer bet that Love would opt in and give himself a chance to hit free agency at full health next year, when the salary cap is projected to jump to $89MM, though that’s just my speculation.

Central Notes: Hibbert, Love, Bucks

April 29th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pacers performed their due diligence last summer and shopped center Roy Hibbert, but Indiana predictably found no takers for the big man, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. This offseason may offer the franchise more luck in dealing the 28-year-old since he’ll be on an expiring contract, provided Hibbert exercises his player option worth $15,514,031, Deveney notes. One NBA assistant coach said Hibbert might be a worthy gamble for another team if the big man could be motivated to stay in shape, Deveney adds. “The last two years, he has dropped off in the second half of the season,” the assistant said. “With big guys like that, the first thing you think of is conditioning. If you can make sure he is in shape for all 82 games, maybe give him time off here and there, he would be worth the risk.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

LeBron James says that he hasn’t spoken with Kevin Love recently about whether or not the big man intends to opt out of his deal, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. When asked if Love would return to the Cavs next season, James said, “That’s a question that I can’t answer right now. I think that’s the last thing on his mind right now. What’s on his mind is his shoulder and how disappointed he is, how hurt he is over the fact that he can’t play in this postseason. I don’t think he’s thought about the offseason or what he wants to do. I haven’t had that conversation with him, and I shouldn’t have to have that conversation with him, especially right now when we’re going through this challenge and this battle of trying to win a championship. So I can’t answer that question.“
The mid-season trade for Michael Carter-Williams shows that the Bucks are looking toward their future rather than trying to simply make the playoffs, Deveney writes in a separate piece. “That’s the difference between the past and now,” GM John Hammond told Deveney. “There’s the big difference. We’re not building toward that now. We’re building toward becoming a championship-caliber team.”
The Pistons would like to bring back unrestricted free agent Joel Anthony to fill the role of backup center next season, but the team needs to address more pressing needs prior to making a decision regarding the big man, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes.

Atlantic Notes: Love, Celtics, Brand, Raptors

April 28th, 2015 at 3:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

People around the Celtics were intrigued to hear of what had been Kevin Love‘s growing fondness for the team, and while the C’s plan to pursue him, they believe he’ll back with the Cavs for next season, a league source told Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. That was before Cavs GM David Griffin announced that Love will likely miss the rest of the playoffs and that surgery on his injured shoulder is a possibility. It’s unclear whether the Celtics will land Love or another star, but an active summer is surely ahead, as I wrote today in examining the Celtics offseason, and Murphy has more clues about what’s ahead for Boston amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko are among the Celtics who want to re-sign with the team, Murphy notes in the same piece as he looks at the status of every player on the team’s roster. The Celtics are interested in keeping Crowder but haven’t decided on Jerebko or Brandon Bass, whose desire to remain in Boston is well–documented, as Murphy details.
The Knicks expressed their interest in Elton Brand to the big man immediately after free agency began last July, and he’d consider signing with them if they pursue him again this summer, the 36-year-old New York native tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Brand, who’s also pondering retirement, passed on a minimum-salary offer from the Knicks last year to sign a one-year, $2MM deal with the Hawks, as Berman details. Knicks team president Phil Jackson might have had more than Brand in mind last summer, since Brand’s agent, David Falk, also represents Greg Monroe, a rumored Knicks target, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
Sportsnet’s Michael Grange views Kyle Lowry‘s comments about coach Dwane Casey on Monday as a rather tepid endorsement, though those who know the point guard tell Grange there wasn’t any hidden meaning and that there’s no tension between player and coach. GM Masai Ujiri offered praise for Lowry today but wouldn’t commit to bringing Casey back. Grange argues that Casey couldn’t have been expected to take the Raptors much farther.

Western Notes: Brooks, Love, Parsons

April 27th, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Scott Brooks would still be the Thunder coach if Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook had strongly objected to the decision to fire him, David Aldridge of NBA.com opines. While Durant and Westbrook were protective of Brooks, they accepted the decision by Oklahoma City’s management, Aldridge continues. The Thunder could not afford the risk of waiting to bring in a new coach after next season when Durant hits the free agent market, Aldridge concludes.

In other news around the Western Conference:

Kevin Love‘s shoulder injury, which will keep him out of the Eastern Conference playoff semifinals, could have a major impact on his potential free agency and the Lakers’ offseason blueprint, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report tweets. Love, who holds an approximate $16.7MM player option on his contract for next season, is at the forefront of the Lakers’ rebuilding plans, Ding adds.
Chandler Parsons might need microfracture surgery on his right knee, which could keep him out of action at the start of next season, sources told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. That could play a role in the Mavericks’ offseason strategy, considering they signed Parsons last summer to be their starting small forward. Parsons will make approximately $15.36MM next season and holds an option of just over $16MM on the final year of his deal in 2016/17. It’s still possible Parsons would only require arthroscopic surgery on the knee, which has a shorter recovery period, MacMahon adds.
The Warriors added more depth to their postseason roster by recalling center Ognjen Kuzmic and forward James Michael McAdoo from their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to the team’s website. Kuzmic and McAdoo helped Santa Cruz win the D-League championship over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, as the duo combined for 31 points and 17 rebounds in the clinching 109-96 victory on Sunday night.

Latest On Kevin Love, Free Agency

April 27th, 2015 at 5:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:05pm: Love will miss Cleveland’s second-round series because of his shoulder injury, the team says, according to Tom Withers of The Associated Press (Twitter link). It’s a left shoulder dislocation, as the team details.

8:58am: People around the Cavaliers and the rest of the league have been of the belief that Kevin Love wouldn’t hesitate to leave Cleveland, but the shoulder injury he suffered in Sunday’s game throws Love’s future into flux, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Celtics had made up ground on the Lakers on Love’s list of preferred destinations, and while Boston was no certainty for Love, they had a better shot than many thought, Wojnarowski writes. However, the tangle with Kelly Olynyk in which Love was injured, a “bush-league play” as Love described it, left the All-Star with a “legitimate loathing” of the Celtics, as Wojnarowski put it. The Cavs expect Love to miss at least the next two weeks, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported earlier.

Love said in January that he planned to pick up his player option of more than $16.744MM for next season, even though there’s a strong chance he could earn more next year on a new maximum-salary deal. However, teams who’ve investigated the possibility of chasing Love are convinced he’ll “minimally explore” the free agent market this summer, according to Wojnarowski. Love was intrigued with the possibility of playing for the Celtics after visiting Boston last spring, and people who know Love and Celtics coach Brad Stevens believe the Celtics would have become the front-runners once Love took a meeting with the C’s, as Wojnarowski details.

The Yahoo! scribe suggests that the confrontation Kendrick Perkins had with Jae Crowder and the flagrant foul J.R. Smith delivered later on Crowder demonstrated that the Cavs were in Love’s corner and sought a measure of revenge for his injury. Still, none of the Cavs went quite as far as Love did in comments about the play in which Love was hurt, with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving probably going the farthest to support Love in saying that it wasn’t a basketball play, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal writes in his Final Thoughts column.

“I’ve seen a lot of tie-ups in my day and that tie-in was a little different,” James said. “We were very upset that it happened.”

The Celtics would probably need to convince Love that Olynyk’s move, in which he hooked Love’s arm as they chased a loose ball, wasn’t intended to hurt him, Wojnarowski surmises, having heard private suggestions from the Celtics that it happened in part because of Olynyk’s “uncoordinated,” “awkward” nature. Several Celtics went on the record with similar statements to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Gerald Wallace said it’s simply how Olynyk has to play, and Evan Turner looked at Tyler Zeller and asked, “Tyler? Doesn’t he foul that way every day in practice?” Olynyk denies trying to injure Love, as Murphy also relays.

And-Ones: Love, Williams, Bass

April 26th, 2015 at 9:22pm CST by Will Joseph

While nothing will be official until the results of an MRI are expected to be announced Monday, the Cavaliers are expecting Kevin Love to miss at least two weeks, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com tweets. Love suffered a dislocated left shoulder in Sunday’s game against Boston and will be evaluated further, the Cavaliers announced. The Cavs will open their semifinal series on either May 2nd or May 4th, depending on when the Bulls–Bucks series concludes.

Here’s more from around the league:

Nets coach Lionel Hollins told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, that Deron Williams, who was involved in trade rumors earlier this season, isn’t the same player he was four years ago when he was heralded by the team as the league’s best point guard and that’s OK. “That’s four years ago. We’re now. No player is the way he was four years ago. All I’m saying is now is that the guy is playing well,” Hollins said. “Somebody picks out that he has two points [in Game 2 against the Hawks]. So what? He played well. It’s not just about the scoring. If it was just about the scoring, there’s a lot of teams that would be better because they have guys who score a lot of points. But it’s about winning. It’s about doing the right things for the team. And I’ll defend Deron until the end on that and all my players to the end if you think that just because a guy makes a lot of money and is supposed on a level because everybody put him on that level — whether it be the organization, or whomever — it’s still where we are now. And we have to deal with now. And I support him 100%.”
Soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Brandon Bass hinted that he would like to return to the Celtics, but acknowledged that it’s not solely his call, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders writes. “I don’t know what the future holds,” Bass said following the Celtics’ Game 4 elimination to the Cavaliers on Sunday. “That’s up to [President of Basketball Operations] Danny Ainge. But Boston’s been great to me over the last couple years, so it’ll be great for me to come back.”
Enes Kanter, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett were listed by Moke Hamilton, Alex Kennedy and Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders as players who are poised to be overpaid as free agents. Hamilton argues that Kanter, a soon-to-be restricted free agent, will cash-in on a small, 26-game sample size. The Timberwolves hold Garnett in such high regard they will most likely offer him a larger contract than teams without previous ties would, Camerato writes.

Central Notes: Love, Butler, Pistons, Hill

April 26th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love suffered a dislocated left shoulder in Sunday’s game against Boston and will be evaluated further, the Cavaliers announced. The incident happened in a first quarter skirmish between Love and the Celtics’ Kelly Olynyk. Love immediately headed for the locker room and did not return. The Cavaliers said Love will receive “examination, imaging and evaluation at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health over the next 24 hours.” His status for the rest of the playoffs will depend on the results of those tests. Love was wearing a sling after the game, but said his shoulder was feeling better and he hopes to be ready for Game 1 of the next series, tweets Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Love wasn’t forgiving toward Olynyk, tweets Dave McMenamin, saying, “I thought it was a bush-league play … I have no doubt in my mind that he did it on purpose.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Jimmy Butler has emerged as the ideal complement to Derrick Rose in the Bulls‘ backcourt, according to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Heading into free agency this summer, Butler has left behind his “role player” days and has become a full-fledged star, Friedell writes. “We have a very strong backcourt right now,” said center Joakim Noah. “Both him and Derrick, it’s very good. I’m very happy to have them as teammates.”
After upgrading at point guard with the trade for Reggie Jackson, the Pistons now face the challenge of improving at other positions, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. He praised coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy for being willing to part with depth and three-point shooting to acquire Jackson, who is very much in the team’s future plans despite being a free agent this summer. He also noted that the Pistons seem likely to bring back Anthony Tolliver, who has a $3MM contract, with only $400K guaranteed.
The Pacers‘ Solomon Hill took advantage of the opportunity given to him when Paul George broke his leg, writes Andrew Perna of Real GM. The second-year player was given increased court time and responded by being the only Pacer to appear in all 82 games. He is under Indiana’s control through the 2017/18 season.