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The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the revelations of the 2022-23 NBA season.
Cleveland sent shock waves through the league this past offseason when they traded for Utah Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell.
The bold move has paid off, as the Cavs sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a 38-23 record entering the second part of the season.
In addition to Mitchell, young stars such as Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have impressed for the Cleveland. But the progression of the latter two comes at the expense of one of the team’s more veteran stars.
Kevin Love, a five-time NBA All-Star and NBA championship winner with Cleveland, had been relegated to small bench role in recent weeks.
This led to Love being bought out by the Cavs following the trade deadline. He’s since signed with the Miami Heat.
Donovan Mitchell And Jarrett Allen Take Kevin Love Buyout To Heart
Mitchell recently revealed that he was “shocked” by the news of Love’s departure.
“I was shocked,” Donovan Mitchell said when asked about Love following Wednesday afternoon’s practice. “I didn’t know that was in the works. I didn’t know that it would be my last game seeing him. I grew up watching Kevin Love and I’m thankful because he is a guy that allowed me to come in and ask him a thousand questions, helped me be an integral part of this team and helped with this group.” – via Cleveland.com
As for Allen, he took a more humorous approach when asked about Love leaving.
#Cavs Jarrett Allen on whether he knew, when he left Philly the other night, that Kevin Love wanted a buyout: "I did not. I was told he was going for milk and cigarettes and he just never came back."
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) February 23, 2023
“I did not. I was told he was going for milk and cigarettes and he just never came back,” Allen said when asked if knew Love would ask for a buyout.”
Sadly, I do not think Love is ever coming back. Allen may need a lot of therapy to deal with this one in the future.