The option used by the Cavaliers was one of the reasons they obtained Mozgov from Denver last season for two first-round picks in the National Basteball Association Draft, ensuring they would have the 7-footer for a second season at a relative bargain price.
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A meeting between Love and the Lakers scheduled for this week was reported late Tuesday night, raising concerns of his departure, but even that was fraught with problems.
Past year Varejao missed all but 26 games, Kevin Love suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first round of the playoffs and Kyrie Irving fractured a kneecap in Game 1 of the National Basteball Association Finals. I couldn’t have been prouder of them as they poured their blood, sweat and tears onto the court.
The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the summer with a laundry list of their players hitting free agency.
What it means: For all the speculation over Love’s future during the 2014-15 season, as he struggled to figure out how he fit in a loaded Cavaliers roster, the consensus had developed recently within the league that Love – as he repeatedly said – wasn’t going anywhere.
Love made the announcement through a short personal essay entitled “Unfinished Business” on The Players’ Tribune, citing his experience watching the Cavaliers compete in the National Basteball Association Finals from the bench while injured as motivation to stay.
Those three players combine for $230 million, and the Cavs still have to factor in LeBron James’ likely one-year max deal, plus potential contracts for J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova. The transactions can not become official until July 9, when the NBA’s signing moratorium ends.
Kevin Love proved to be a man of his word.
The Cleveland Cavaliers gave Iman Shumpert $40 million, so he updated his hairstyle accordingly.
Love said all along that he just wanted to win, and the Cavs turned a worrisome 19-20 start into a blazing 34-9 finish to surge to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Love played at UCLA and trains in Los Angeles. He’s made it clear through actions and words to Cavaliers management that he isn’t going anywhere.
“If this goes the way I think it is, Ithink the Cavs payroll is headed to about $110 million or $115 million…which would kick Dan Gilbert’s commitment to potentially higher than $200 million for next season, which would eclipse the all-time record set by the Brooklyn Nets of 193 million, two years ago.”
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The San Antonio Spurs agreed to a maximum five-year deal for $90 million to keep forward Kawhi Leonard and a four-year contract worth $45 million with outside shooting threat Danny Green. Why wouldn’t he want to step into a potential void left by LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland and try to bring his hometown team back to prominence? Assuming James never bolts from Cleveland again, their top four players will be under contract through at least 2019.
