Mobley: Love’s departure ‘hits you emotionally’
Evan Mobley is convinced every member of the Cavaliers will miss Kevin Love.
A respected veteran and five-time NBA All-star, Love and the Cavs reached an agreement on a buyout of his contract Saturday, meaning the player who had been the last remaining member of the franchise’s 2016 championship team is moving on, the organization announced.
A second-year Cavs forward, Mobley reacted to the news by saying, “It definitely hits you emotionally . ... All the guys are going to miss him for sure, and I just hope he does great wherever he goes.”
In recent weeks, Love had fallen out of the nine-man rotation deployed by Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who didn’t want to divvy up minutes between 11 or 12 players, believing it would make it more difficult to find a rhythm.
Prior to falling out of the rotation altogether, Love was averaging 20 minutes a game, the lowest of his 15 NBA seasons.
Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman said after the trade deadline the team didn’t anticipate a buyout, but that was before the Cavs added forward Danny Green. After Green’s signing, the Cavs and Love reportedly moved forward without buyout talks.
The Miami Heat are considered the favorites to sign Love, though he plans to talk to the Philadelphia 76ers, too, ESPN reported. Both are Eastern Conference playoff contenders like the Cavs.
“He’s been great, a great leader,” Mobley said. “He’s always been a character in the locker room as well. All the guys on the team love him.
“His lightheartedness in the locker room definitely helps everybody and glues everybody together.”
Love, 34, last appeared in a game Jan. 24. Hindered by a fractured thumb suffered in the fall, he has averaged 8.5 points on 38.9% shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists this season.
But the intangibles he brought to a young Cavs roster lacking substantial playoff exposure shouldn’t be discounted.
“Being in a championship environment for years is a big deal, and I feel like that holds weight for us,” Mobley said. “He definitely helped us ... take things serious as we get to the end of the season and end of last season.
“He did a great job expressing that and showing that and teaching us that.”