CAVALIERS GIVE LOVE FOUR-YEAR, $120 MILLION EXTENSION
New deal doesn’t have player option or no-trade clause.
Kevin Love has CLEVELAND — signed a four-year, $120 million extension with the Cavaliers, placing himself at the center of whatever the team may become in the wake of LeBron James’ departure.
Love, who turns 30 in September and is a five-time AllStar, has one year and a player’s option for 2019-20 on his current deal. He’ll be paid $24.1 million this season, but according to a source declined his player’s option so the extension begins next year.
By doing it this way, Love took about 8 percent less than the maximum extension he could have received, two sources said, giving the Cavs a chance to sign more players as they begin to create cap space in future years.
There is no player option or no-trade clause in this contract. The Cavs can’t trade him for six months, but, at least for now, this isn’t a deal made so the team can turn around and move their new centerpiece.
Love was the second or third wheel of Cleveland’s Big 3 during the team’s run of four consecutive Finals. Kyrie Irving left first, when he asked for a trade and got one (to Boston) last summer. James picked the Lakers in free agency July 1.
Cavs general manager Koby Altman insisted for weeks he wasn’t going to trade Love and has said the team would resist tearing down with James gone for a full rebuild. Here’s the proof, and Love agrees with him.
“We are very excited to announce Kevin’s long-term commitment to the Cavaliers and Cleveland,” Altman said in a news release from the Cavs confirming the contract extension. “This quickly became a partnership the second we began these discussions. Collaboration and winning matter greatly to Kevin and that was reflected in this extension.
“Kevin’s talent and character are both at a very high level and he has earned his role at the center of what we want to do moving forward. As a five-time All-Star and NBA Champion, Kevin has a special understanding of exactly what success and winning require.”
In the same news release, Love said “When I first came to Cleveland, I came with a long-term mindset.
“I came here to win,” Love said. “We developed a culture here that reflects that. I’m super excited and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a big commitment for me and it’s a big commitment from the Cavaliers, so I want to thank Dan Gilbert, Koby Altman and the entire organization. I enjoy playing here, I’m excited about the team that we have and look forward to our future together. Cleveland fans have been special from day one and I’m also looking forward to continuing to be a part of this great community.”
Love, who is 6-10, averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds with the Cavs last year — his fourth with the club. He made the All-Star team for the second straight year, but couldn’t play in the game because of a broken bone in his hand.
The Cavs originally acquired Love in 2014 in a trade with Minnesota for Andrew Wiggins — whom Cleveland drafted No. 1 overall that year. He’s averaging 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds as a Cav and 18.3 points and 11.3 rebounds over his 10-year career.
Love signed his extension in front of Cavs employees and construction workers at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday.
On his Instagram story Monday, Love showed himself boarding a charter jet in Los Angeles, followed by a small party at his suburban Cleveland home in which several bottles of expensive wines were opened.