David Griffin Says Kevin Love Wants to Stay With the Cavs ‘Even During the Pain of Rebuilding’

The collapse of the Cleveland Cavaliers this season has led the team to begin overhauling its roster as it seeks to reconstruct the franchise.

Despite the fact that power forward Kevin Love has been rumored to be on the trading block, the team’s former general manager is indicating that Love wants to be a part of the team’s rebuilding program.

David Griffin, who left the organization in June 2017, was instrumental in acquiring Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves in August 2014. The combination of Love, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving then helped lead the Cavaliers to their only NBA title two years later.

According to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com, Griffin believes that Love is eager to play a key role in helping the team come back:

“Griffin said Love is looking forward to playing, and that Love still would prefer to stay with the Cavs, even during the pain of rebuilding.”

Pluto indicates that Griffin still keeps in touch with Love, providing the former GM with a unique perspective on the 11-year veteran who’s missed most of this season due to injury.

While many have compared the current 9-37 Cavaliers team to the 2010-11 edition that also dealt with a James departure, Griffin points out a key difference that might be connected to Love’s apparent attitude:

“The roster we inherited was old. A lot of guys didn’t want to be there. But that’s not the case for the Cavs right now.”

Griffin also believes that the poor record by this year’s team is more the byproduct of outside factors, rather than the quality of the overall roster:

“This team has some pretty good players. They just have had a lot of bad luck with injuries and other things.”

Another reason for Love wanting to stay, according to Griffin, is connected to the man who let Griffin go: Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert:

“Just like now, we had a huge advantage of an owner (Dan Gilbert) willing to take on money to help add assets and draft picks. He’s doing it again.”

Love last played on Oct. 24 before then undergoing surgery on his injured toe on Nov. 2. There’s no current indication exactly when he’ll take the court again for the Cavaliers, who signed him to a four-year contract extension worth $120 million during the offseason.