Kevin Love lashed out at Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman after today’s shootaround, according to Joe Vardon and Shams Charania of The Athletic. Love expressed “displeasure and disgust with the organization” in a tirade in front of players, coaches and front office members, sources tell the authors.
Today’s incident builds on a $1K fine that Love received for his actions on the bench during a lopsided loss in Toronto on New Year’s Eve. Love said he was angry about how selfishly the first team was playing, according to sources, and asked a coach to take him out of the game so he could calm down. He walked away from the huddle during a third quarter timeout and was seen smacking chairs in anger.
Vardon and Charania note that this isn’t the first time Love has been angry with the organization. He reportedly raised his voice at Altman late last season, and when threatened with a fine he responded, “Go ahead. I have plenty of money.”
Love is in the first season of a four-year, $120MM extension that he signed during the summer of 2018. However, he has been the subject of persistent trade rumors as Cleveland launched a rebuilding project following the departure of LeBron James.
Sources tell Vardon and Charania that Love would like to be traded to a contender, although he hasn’t expressed that desire publicly. After winning 19 games last season, the Cavs appear hopelessly out of the playoff race with a 10-24 record.
Trying to force his way out of town.
Don’t blame him one bit. That franchise is a joke. It’s been proven that they can’t do a single thing without LBJ…or World B Free
They were pretty good with Price, Nance, Williams and Daugherty
Nah, Kevin Love has no one to blame but himself. Kyrie saw the writing on the wall in 2017 and forced his way out of Cleveland. On July 9, 2018, LeBron signed with the Lakers. 15 days later, Love signed a 4 year extension (which converted this season from an team option to a regular year) and he would be on the trading block anyways.
I mean they completely tore apart their salary cap picture and future picks to appease LeBron and try and win a title…..hard to call them a joke because of that…..where do you think all of these other teams with a poor salary cap structure will end up heading?
Cavs didn’t tore apart their salary cap and give away future picks. The only players that got paid are Thompson and Smith, and the latter had a very tradable contract before the past summer. The only pick traded that goes beyond James’ departure is the first of 2018, which is 25th and become Wagner.
And what has Kyrie done since riding LeBron’s coattails in Cleveland? Absolutely nothing. Just like he’ll do in Brooklyn.
Love was selfish as anyone else when he was in MN. Overrated player.
That team was trash too.
Aw, poor guy.
He will be a Laker for a bag of chips
AD and a bag of chips?
He was a fair #3 and can’t cut it as a #1 or #2 but the injury prone diva has plenty of money. Good for him. Next.
I understand his frustration. Between Garland Love and Delly they lead the Cavs in assits with 3. So from Sexton and Garland and the rest of the boys there isn’t much good looks being created.
Maybe trade Kevin Love for James Johnson and Justice Winslow.
Cavs get a young Point Forward in Winslow who defends at a high level and likes to create offence. This year he is averaging 12.5-7-4 but that’s not having much of a creator role, I think if he were to move he would average closer to 7/8 assists. He’s also on a real team friendly deal and only 23. You have to take back James Johnson but his contract isn’t as bad as Loves contract.
Heat get back a second star to help Jimmy Butler and give them a really strong push in the playoffs. Love would give this group some experience, the ability to play down low or stretch the floor and help with rebounding. Heat have to let go Winslow which is a small loss but getting rid of James Johnson is a positive. Miami would be a good place for Love to finish up his career playing at a good level. I think he would also get on well with Spoelstra.
Hey Pat Riley! Tazza has just figured out a way to win your organization a Title! He can be your asset GM! This one has all the answers!
What’s with the sarcasm? Whats your opinion
Really though. He’s just throwing out ideas.
For the Cavs I think you don’t think twice about making the deal. 1 you get a young peice that’s good on both ends of the floor and 2 you save a some salary.
Miami has to think does it want to take on a little bit more salary as lose a piece for Love. I think Spoelstra would get the best out of Love and he would fit in well with the culture Jimmy Butler is creating, while helping the mentor the young bigs.
Love this year is averaging 17-10-3 which are good numbers considering his guards only create for themselves. Miami passes the ball around a lot better so that’ll help. He’s also shooting at a better rate (45-37-85) than he did last year. So I don’t think you worry about regression for now, plus as he’s gotten older he’s shown he can change his game to suit.
Miami is off to a great start they don’t need to make a big play for CP3 or Drummond or anything like that where they give up loads. Love fits the system and is happy to be a third option, gives you experience and isn’t going to cost a fortune like some other guys.
his dad is a major dbag, no coincidence his son is too
Love knew exactly what he was getting into when he re signed in Cleveland despite LBJ bouncing.
There’s been a couple guys lately.. they want that big contract from whoever will give it to them, and then after a few months or so.. or a year or so then they start complaining with that guaranteed contract in hand about where they are playing.
Love is mad because Cleveland’s starting guards don’t pass the ball, and everyone on the coaching staff and in the front office acts like that’s no big deal.
The Cavs would be better if their long guards didn’t get as much run, and they might develop into better passers too.
The thing is these guys didn’t come out of the draft know as passers. Once was a scorer, the other somewhat of an unknown due to injury but who still had posted a terrible AST/TO ratio in a limited sample size. None of this is exactly a surprise.
Regardless, Love is ultimately the one who signed a 4-year extension with a bad organization, which in a sense should have been a huge red flag because no other team was going to offer him that much money on the open market. He has no one but himself to blame if he is unhappy with his current situation.
To me, this outburst just seems like a PR move to make him look like the good guy. Either that, or he’s plain ignorant.
Reason 3, he wants out and is making a commotion to move that along.
Definitely, but a trade looked inevitable anyway with several teams in need of power forwards.
This may not be a very busy deadline but Love getting moved seemed like a foregone conclusion.
Even knowing you signed that huge deal. I think Love knew they would rebuild and would lose a lot don’t think that’s the issue.
I think losing I one thing but losing like that is another thing. Who wants to play when you have two young Points running the floor only creating for themselves and playing awfully.
Like you could understand them not passing if they were like Curry or Harden level good shooters or handlers or something but these guys stink.
The Cavs offered that deal because they said they wanted him long term, wanted him to be a leader, liked what he brought to the organization, etc. Then, after months of trying to get the young guys to pass the ball, he concludes the GM didn’t really mean all the nice things he said.
The Cav’s guards were never good passers but are totally green-lit by the FO. (Not sure about Beilein.) Then GM Altman trades freind Clarkson for Exum, an injurable version of Clarkson. Plus KLove wanted out anyway.
And Altman was just given an extension. I’m no longer a fan of Owner Gilbert because of that. Gilbert was in a silly hurry to replace Lebron.
The guards are actually entertaining but who can be surprised KLove is not happy. More to come.
I’m sorry, but as a 50+ year Cleveland sports fan (yeah, I’ll give you an address to send sympathy cards :) ), I don’t feel bad for Kevin Love at all.
You’re being paid almost 29 MILLION dollars this year, and almost 120 million between this year and the next three.
Shut the hell up. Collect your paycheck. Play your ass off. That is what the team is paying you to do. Not to sit there and piss and moan. Hell, I’d bet that most of the people in this group would be willing to take two punches to the scrotum every day for the life of our 4 year 120 million dollar contract, and we’d be thrilled to be making that salary. Grow up Kevin. You’re looking like a petulant child. You’re being paid, VERY WELL, mind you, to play basketball. Go do it already.
Lol this is the most boomer comment I’ve seen here
It’s not boomer is an Ohio comment. I’m 43 and will say I get it. Love is frustrated with young guys not listening and learning. It’s not losing, he was asked to lead he tries to and it seems FO goes back and tells young guys “don’t worry what he says you are our future”
Yes a lot of cross purposes are put out there by the FO and it’s all UNlikely to work.
After the trade deadline though, it would be better if Love chose sighs over shouts.
I guess expecting people to work for their salary is “boomer”. Frankly, I too am tired of the NBA stars who have some sense of entitlement, especially the better-paid ones, who forget they work for the fans – who make a lot less and work for it.
So Love has no right to complain because he’s paid a lot of money?
Young guards are ball hogs, but no right to complain? GM hires a coach that doesn’t know what he’s doing, but no right to complain? GM trades away vets and makes the team less competitive, but no right to complain? GM lies to your face about why they offered you an extension, but no right to complain?
The guy actually wants to win. If anyone should cheer that, it’s an Ohio sports fan. But here we are.
Tell me how often you complain to your boss at your job, or worse yet, complain to the press about the company. you work for, and also how long you kept getting paid after that.
He got along much better with his previous gm, now working in LA.
Kevin Love got his big contract and now these tantrums in public. F him. Let him stay in Cleveland. He deserves it. He has always been soft. He can shoot…BFD…there are two ends to the floor.
He wasn’t soft in his 2016 NBA finals run.
I’m no big fan, but give the guy at least a little credit. He’s a good player on a team that has no interest in competing it coaching players to pass the ball.
It would be weird if he wasn’t mad.