Wolves owner Glen Taylor said Tuesday that Kevin Love‘s health was one reason he hesitated to sign him to a five-year extension in 2012, and he believes it’s a lingering question surrounding around the star power forward, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune observes.
“I had that concern then,” Taylor said. “I still have that concern, and Cleveland should have that concern, too: if he can keep his health. If they sign him to a five-year contract like they’re thinking about, that’s a big contract on a guy who’s had some times when he has missed games.”
Love acknowledged that there are some raw emotions surrounding the blockbuster move but called for Taylor to keep his focus on his own roster, as the newest Cavalier said today on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” show, Zgoda notes. We passed along plenty on Love Tuesday night, and we’ll detail more here:
- Taylor said Love never asked him directly to be traded, but agent Jeff Schwartz did make the request to Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders, according to Taylor, as Zgoda writes in the same piece. The owner suggested that he would have preferred that Love go through him instead.
- Love and Taylor haven’t spoken since the end of the season, the owner said, though he insists they’re still on good terms, as Derek Wetmore of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities chronicles.
- Taylor had insisted amid Love trade rumors early in the summer that he was in no hurry to make a trade, and he explained his shift in thinking Tuesday to reporters, including Wetmore. “I spoke the truth when I said if Kevin would stay here then we would have the best season. Inside I knew Kevin wasn’t giving us that alternative even though it’s what I wanted,” Taylor said. “So now you have the thing where Kevin kind of said, ‘Trade me or you’re going to pay the fine next year if you don’t trade me.’ I think once we got going on that, we had about four teams that came to us with significant offers. But this one truly had the biggest upside. Flip pushed it and negotiated it the best he could so I’m really happy with it.”
the owner comes off a bit salty when speaking of Love’s injury history. Obviously, the concussions are a possible concern, but otherwise, he should be fine. What Cleveland really should be concerned about is the fact that he is going to be sacrificing a lot of touches, and then defensively, he just doesnt help them in their deficiencies on that end
I’ve been thinking about the last few sentences in your post lately. I’ve been thinking with K-Love having to sacrifice touches is he going to be all that much different/better than having Chris Bosh, I think its a legitimate thought, certainly Love being about 5 years younger is a plus, also his outlet passing on the break will be lethal with Lebron & Irving running the floor, Bosh is a lot better defensively, they can both shoot, Love can rebound better but Bosh isn’t a slouch either, Love and Lebron are going to kill it no doubt but can they get over the hump to win a championship/s, can Love step up and contribute in the playoffs the way Bush did? it is going to be a fun season man, I can’t wait
I personally think the Cavs seem like a 5 seed that will be in the 2-3 range, just b/c LeBron wins them those few extra games. I still think that trade was bad for Cleveland…They need to at least add some rim protection if they arent going to address the other areas of need