NBA Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning believes that All-Star forward Kevin Love will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers when he becomes a free agent this coming summer.
When he was still in Minnesota, Love was the team’s primary offensive weapon and he has been accustomed to playing or being the team’s go-to-guy in his first six seasons in the league.
However, when he moved to the Cavaliers during the offseason to join the returning LeBron James and All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving in Cleveland, he has become second, if not third, fiddle to the other two superstars in the team as far as offensive options are concerned.
Mourning is just voicing out earlier speculations that Love is not happy with his role as a mere role player as opposed to being a superstar that he really is, notes Christianity Daily.
In a recent interview, Mourning said that he can see that Love continues to struggle to adjust to his new role in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offensive rotation. He is also convinced that Love would leave James and the Cavaliers when he becomes a free agent, not unless Cleveland wins it all and is crowned this season’s champions.
Headed to LA
Mourning also believes that Love will most likely go to LA in the event that he decides to leave Cleveland. Having spent his college playing for the UCLA, playing with the Lakers would be a homecoming for the forward.
The lure of playing for the Lakers and Kobe Bryant for Love comes from having his talent fully utilized. If he plays for the Lakers, he would surely be a major offensive weapon, perhaps next only to Kobe Bryant. But if the Black Mamba finally agrees to settle down and let the game come to him instead of constantly forcing it, Kevin Love will become the main offensive weapon of the Lakers.
The only downside of joining the Lakers is that Love will be coming to a team that would be in a rebuilding phase, which means that his championship ambitions may have to be put in the backburner.
But knowing the Lakers management, they will always find very good players to make their team competitive again and make a run to the title, although that would still take some time. If Love decides to stay with the Cavaliers, even if they do not win the championship this season, there’s always a good chance of getting the opportunity to make a run for the title in the next couple of seasons especially if he’s playing with LeBron James, considered as the best all-around player in the NBA today.
Unrestricted free agent
The 26-year-old Kevin Love will become an unrestricted free agent this summer although he has an option for a one-year contract extension with the Cavs. There are speculations going around that Love may also opt to agree to a contract extension with Cleveland and wait for the salary cap to increase in 2016 before he starts testing the free agency market.
When he was still playing with the Timberwolves, Kevin Love averages 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game and a 45.7% shooting clip. But in the 65 games he played for the Cavaliers this season, the All-Star forward is logging in 16.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game on 43% shooting.
His numbers have significantly gone down and it has become obvious with the number of shots he has been taking. He was taking 18.5 shots per game while playing for Minnesota and is now doing only 12.9 attempts per game with Cleveland.