Since the departure of LeBron James in the summer of 2018, rumors have been continuously swirling around All-Star power forward Kevin Love and his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the team in the middle of the rebuilding process, most people don’t think that keeping Love on their roster still makes sense for the Cavaliers.
In the past months, Love has already been linked to several team that could be interested in getting his service, including LeBron’s current team, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kevin Love Linked To LA Lakers Because Of Russell Westbrook
In a recent episode of the HoopsHype podcast, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com talked about several interesting topics, including the rumors linking Love to the Lakers. According to Scotto, some people speculated Love to leave the Cavaliers for the Lakers, not because of James, but because of his connection with Russell Westbrook.
"Coming into the year, some people wondered if he’d have kind of a Blake Griffin situation, get bought out, and people were speculating maybe he’d go to the Lakers… because of his relationship with Russell Westbrook," Scotto said.
Kevin Love-Russell Westbrook Connection
Love and Westbrook are yet to play together in the NBA, but they have formed a strong bond during their college year. Love and Westbrook were both members of the UCLA Bruins’ roster in the 2007-2008 season. Though they failed to help the Bruins win the championship, both stars have huge individual accomplishments.
In the lone college year that they spent together, Love was named consensus first-team All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year, All-Pac-10, and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, while Westbrook was named All-Pac-10 Third Team and won the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year.
Does Reuniting Kevin Love With Russell Westbrook Make Sense For Lakers?
Bringing Love to Los Angeles would make a lot of sense for the Lakers, especially now they obviously need more help in terms of scoring. As of now, the Lakers only rank No. 26 in the NBA’s offensive efficiency, scoring 104.1 points per 100 possessions, per ESPN. Love may no longer be in his prime, but he’s still a very reliable contributor on the offensive end of the floor.
This season, the 33-year-old power forward is averaging 12.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc, per ESPN.
Are Lakers Willing To Give Up Valuable Assets For Kevin Love?
The Lakers would definitely welcome Love in Los Angeles. Aside from his connection with Westbrook, he’s one of the few superstars in the league who can efficiently co-exist with James. However, it remains a big question mark if the Lakers are willing to give up valuable trade assets to reunite Love with Westbrook and James this season.
Though he has already shown a massive decline in his performance, Scotto revealed that the Cavaliers still view Love as an "asset." The Cavaliers will reportedly try to get the most out of Love instead of salary dumping him or giving up assets to get rid of him.
]]>The Inquisitr
