Former NBA champion Kevin Love is expected to hit the free agent market soon after being traded from the Miami Heat to the Utah Jazz in a three-team deal last month, and the New York Knicks are not expected to join in on the sweepstakes.
Love is expected to be bought out by the Jazz, and, according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, following the Knicks reportedly losing interest, the former Timberwolves and Cavaliers forward will look to join one of the two Los Angeles NBA teams, the Lakers and the Clippers.
The move to the Lakers would make the most sense, reuniting Love with former Cavs teammate LeBron James, two of the “Big 3” that brought Cleveland their first NBA championship after defeating the Golden State Warriors in seven games back in 2016.
NBA insider Marc Stein has also reported that the power forward is “actively exploring” ways out of Utah.
Love, the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, played only one year of college basketball with the UCLA Bruins, where he was teammates with future NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, who was selected one pick before Love with the fourth overall pick.
Spending the first seven years of his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he made three NBA All-Star Games and two All-NBA teams, Love was then traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he would win the aforementioned championship alongside James and Kyrie Irving.
As Love is clearly in the latter portion of his career, and injuries have been plaguing his seasons as of late, any team still in need of a solid rebounder or deceptively good three-point shooting forward should still invest in the 36-year-old.
