The Los Angeles Lakers still have a roster place available, even though the free agency frenzy is largely past. Although they are not officially required to fill that position, it would be wise to add a veteran on a minimum contract given their lack of depth in the frontcourt.
Luckily for them, LeBron James’s old teammate is essentially pleading with them to sign him. The Miami Heat recently traded Kevin Love to the Utah Jazz this summer, and it is anticipated that Love will be bought out. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints anticipates that he will wind up in Los Angeles at that point.
According to reports, Kevin Love wants to end his career in Los Angeles.
Given that Love attended UCLA and was born in Santa Monica, this makes sense. In his reporting, Siegel makes no distinction between the Lakers and the Clippers. The Lakers are a clear favorite, though, since Love and James have a bond that dates back to their time as Cleveland Cavaliers. The two players played together for four seasons and won a title.
“According to insiders, Love wants to move to Los Angeles, according to rumors circulating the league. Although there doesn’t appear to be much interest developing from the Knicks, there were some reports that Love may like to visit New York.
The Lakers are hard-capped at the first apron, which makes this acquisition more difficult. As a result, they are unable to sign a veteran to a minimum deal without taking further action.
However, a team like the Lakers, which has a lot of terrible contracts, shouldn’t have too much trouble with this. To make room to sign Love, they might let go of Dalton Knecht or Maxi Kleber.
Love isn’t expected to play a lot of minutes at this point in his career. In addition to shooting and grabbing rebounds, he is a defensive liability. However, the Lakers lack a consistent stretch big, so they may be in dire need of both of those skill sets.
For the Lakers, that would make Love a reliable backup in an emergency and a strong presence in the locker room.
The degree to which LeBron James is interested in getting back together with his old teammate will probably determine if the Lakers pursue Love. James has always benefited from playing next to big men who can spread the floor, so he might try to get GM Rob Pelinka to sign Love if he wants a center with that kind of skill set on the team.
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