NBA Analyst: Kevin Love Contract Could Be One Of Worst In NBA
Cleveland Cavaliers star forward Kevin Love runs onto the court. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
After LeBron James left the team, it seemed pretty likely that the Cleveland Cavaliers would trade Kevin Love. Instead, it has gone in the other direction, coming to an agreement on a big new Kevin Love contract.
The deal keeps the All-Star forward in Cleveland for four years. While it comes in short of the maximum money that he could have landed on the open market, it is more than most probably expected Love to garner this season.
Love's new deal is worth $120 million over four years, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski this morning.
He's already been congratulated by his former teammate LeBron. However, not everyone is all that into this new deal for Love.
One NBA analyst thinks the new Kevin Love contract could become one of the worst in the NBA.
Nate Duncan tweeted as much after the news broke this afternoon. He has serious doubts about Love's production at the back end of this deal.
It should be noted that, according to Brian Windhorst, the deal is a bit front-loaded.
Of course, we haven't seen love as the guy on a team for a while. When he was, back on the Minnesota Timberwolves, he was a double-double machine and one of the league's most prolific rebounders.
That didn't translate to a ton of wins though. The team averaged 25.5 wins per year with Love on the team, with a high-water mark of 40-42 in 2013-14. Love never made the playoffs in Minnesota.
While he has put up solid numbers alongside LeBron James and, until last year, Kyrie Irving, it doesn't seem like he's still a viable No. 1 option. It will be very interesting to see what the new-look Cavs, led by Love and first-round pick Collin Sexton, look like. It will take a lot for Love to live up to this $30 million per year billing.
