Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love indicated in a newly released interview that playing for the Portland Trail Blazers would be “special.”
Love was interviewed on Yahoo Sports’ “Posted Up with Chris Haynes,” and Love noted his admiration for superstar Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers franchise.
“By the way, who wouldn’t want to play with Dame Lillard, first of all? Dame, he’s special, yeah, he’s amazing,” Love said.
“I still love, I claim Portland, people ask me where I’m from. I spent all my formative years, I grew up in Portland. People ask me where I’m born, obviously, I say [Los Angeles], but Portland is always going to be a special place in my heart.
“Like whether it be at the end of my career, whether it be in six months, whatever it may be, if I was wearing a Portland jersey, that’s special, right? Like, that’s playing, that’s playing at home. But, what do you say? What’s the saying? You want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
“It’s obviously a special place, I love C.J. [McCollum], Melo (Carmelo Anthony) has done an incredible job stepping in there. Terry Stotts, great. Portland has always had something special, and I’m happy that they’ve had success this year, even without their fans.
“Because as you know, you’ve been to Portland, you’ve played in Portland, you’ve played against Portland, their fans come out. They gotta be some of the top fans in the league. Rip City’s always been special. Used to go to the Memorial Coliseum growing up, the whole Rose Quarter. My first concerts there, kissed my first girlfriend there, Portland’s a special place for me. Whether I play there or not ever, I’m always going to go back and that’s always going to be a place that I represent.”
Love was interviewed on April 12, which was before last week’s controversy over an inbounds pass that called his leadership qualities into question.
The Cavaliers have reportedly been trying to trade Love for an extended period of time, but have found no takers, largely due to his extensive injury history and the two seasons remaining on his huge contract. In addition, any offers that have been put forth for Love offer little in return to the Cavs.
While the Trail Blazers would no doubt love to add Love’s scoring and rebounding ability to their roster, trying to fit his huge annual salary into their salary cap would present some major problems.
For now, Love will remain with the Cavaliers, though it’s clear that he and the Cavs would like to see a parting of the ways that could benefit both sides.
