Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports
The big news out of Cleveland last week was the departure of former All-Star Kevin Love from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Love secured a contract buyout from the squad several days ago and has since joined the Miami Heat for the rest of the 2022-23 NBA season. Now that the dust has started to settle, details about the buyout deal are being revealed. It looks like the Cavs and Love himself both came out as winners in the deal.
The team saved some money thanks to the buyout, and Love managed to make a nice bundle by signing with Miami.
“From a financial viewpoint, my NBA sources tell me that Love took $7 million of the $8.5 million he was owed,” Cleveland.com‘s Terry Pluto wrote. “Cavs kept $1.5 million. He then signed for $3.1 million with Miami. He ended up making an extra $1.6 million on the deal.”
Though the Cavs did save some money through the buyout, the decision to part ways with Love likely did not have much to do with the financials. Instead, it’s more likely that the two sides agreed to part ways officially in order to accomplish two things.
First off, the Cavs organization surely wanted to respect Love’s desire to actually play this season. He had been removed from the team’s rotation, and allowing him to move on with his career seemed like the right thing to do.
Moreover, the Cavs likely felt that they could use the open roster spot. The team has yet to fill the spot, but it is reportedly going to consider “all possibilities” when surveying the landscape of available players.
It’s certainly bittersweet to see Love’s tenure with the Cavs come to an end. Though the marriage wasn’t always perfect, it did have incredibly high highs. Of course, the pinnacle of his tenure came in 2016 when he played a pivotal role in helping the Cavs win the NBA title.
His defensive stand late in Game 7 of that year’s NBA Finals is surely burned in the minds of many Cavs fans across the globe.
The team has already decided to eventually retire Love’s No. 0 uniform. That honor is absolutely deserved.
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