INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previous story.
The Cleveland Cavaliers held their annual media day on Monday, marking the unofficial start of their 2021-22 season.
Editor's note: More Cleveland Cavaliers coverage from WKYC
And has been the case every year since he was first acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014, Kevin Love was there.
At certain points throughout this past offseason, it didn't always seem like that would be the case. With the rebuilding Cavs' timeline seemingly no longer matching the 33-year-old Love's, rumors and reports swirled that the team and player could part ways via a buyout to void the final two seasons on the five-time All-Star's contract.
Last month, however, Love's agent, Jeff Schwartz, shot down such speculation, telling ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that his client had no interest in negotiating a buyout with the Cavs. On Monday, Love had the opportunity to share his side of the situation and explain why he isn't looking interested in such a deal.
"A buyout had never even come up," Love said. "I think that's speculation. Sometimes s--t is thrown against a wall and people are thinking who's going to read it and who's going to see it. So for me, that's never been a thing. I'm still sitting here, Year 14 [of his career] as a Cav."
That's not to say that Love doesn't understand the speculation, which has only been fueled by his apparent unhappiness in Cleveland since signing a four-year, $120 million extension with the Cavs in 2018. And it goes without saying that a big reason why Love likely isn't interested in a buyout is that it would require him to give up at least a portion of the more than $60 million remaining on his contract.
As for how much longer Love will remain in Cleveland, even he acknowledges that remains unclear. But when it comes to his outlook for Cleveland's upcoming campaign, the lone remaining member of the Cavs' 2016 championship roster is opting to take a positive approach.
"Listen, it's a young team. That's obviously where this is headed and where this is going. But what I'm going to try to be and what I've told Koby [Altman] and J.B. [Bickerstaff] is a positive force," Love said. "Wherever this ends up, I just want to make sure that at least internally in here, when we walk into this building and when I go to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, I want it to be positive.
"And it's the same thing last year -- we know what's going on. Within the locker room, everybody had their moments, me included -- maybe me, specifically. But I want to make sure it's going to be positive as long as I'm donning a Cavs jersey."