CLEVELAND — It appears that the last remaining member of the Cavaliers' 2016 NBA Championship team still on the current roster will soon be departing Cleveland.
According to Shams Charania and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, the Cavs and Kevin Love are finalizing a buyout that would end the five-time All-Star's time in Cleveland. Charania and Lloyd report that the Miami Heat are expected to emerge as the favorites to sign Love.
The buyout comes as Love has fallen out of the Cavaliers' regular rotation, having not logged any minutes in the team's last 12 games. Love had struggled earlier this season while playing with a thumb injury. He averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest in 2022-23.
After not dealing Love before last week's trading deadline, Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman said he had not had any discussions with their 34-year-old veteran forward or his agent about a contract buyout.
"I have not been approached by them at all and I don’t anticipate it either,” Altman said at the time. “It’s not easy for Kevin, I’m sure. I’ve had conversations with him. He wants to play. I think he’ll have an opportunity to play again this year."
Love has spent the last nine seasons of his 15-year NBA career in Cleveland. He was acquired by the Cavs from Minnesota in the summer of 2014 as the team was reshaping its roster for the return of LeBron James. Love struggled initially in his role as the third option behind James and Kyrie Irving, but soon played a significant part in Cleveland's climb to the top of the NBA mountain.
After the Cavs won the NBA title in 2016, Love was named to consecutive All-Star teams in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, Love signed a four-year, $120 million contract to stay in Cleveland, which is set to expire after this season. He is earning $28.9 million in the final year of the deal.
The Associated Press' Tom Withers contributed to this story