INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- When LeBron James revealed he was taking his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman knew he had a call to make.
"Right after LeBron decided to leave, I called Kevin first," Altman revealed on Tuesday. "I said, 'Kev, I'm not trading you. I want you to be here."
As it turned out, Kevin Love was on the same page.
On Tuesday, both the Cavs and Love proved they meant what they said, agreeing to terms on a 4-year, $120 million extension that will keep the 5-time All-Star under contract with the team through the 2022-23 season. Given the state of the franchise following James' departure earlier this month, the move came as a surprise to many, who expected Cleveland to enter a rebuild and Love to prefer to remain with a contender.
So why did Love sign the remaining years of his prime away to the Cavs, who are admittedly in the midst of a youth movement? And in turn, why did Altman opt to tie up an average of $30 million per year in a 29-year-old forward who hasn't been a team's No. 1 option since 2014?
In their own words:
Love: "Ten years in [to the NBA], I wanted to be a part of something special. I knew there was the potential for 'Bron to be leaving. I think we felt that. But this is a team that had a lot of trust in me and has had a lot of trust in me and believe in me since Day 1. I know even before Koby was GM, he felt that as well. We had a really good back and forth, a trust level, and I looked him in the eye after the season and he can attest to this too, and I told him that I want to be here and I want to be a part of this moving forward and he said that we wanted to get something done. I think we both agreed that this is the right thing and that we want to make this thing work and make it special."
Altman: "We had exit interviews and I spoke to Kevin and we spoke for about an hour and really spoke about what it means to be a Cavalier and wanting to be here. And Kevin didn't shy away from saying, 'I want to be a part of the Cavaliers moving forward.
"He's never wavered in his commitment, not once in the four years since we've traded for him and not once this summer. To me, that's really really meaningful. He wants to be a part of this franchise and be the leader and I think he's earned that."
Of course, the possibility exists that Love doesn't finish out his contract as a member of the Cavs, although given his sizable salary, a potential trade could prove difficult. "Hopefully that ends now," Love said with a laugh regarding trade rumors.
But regardless of how Love's future plays out, for now, he's once again the face of a franchise in what is admittedly a new era of Cleveland basketball.
"We got a little bit spoiled with four straight trips to the Finals," Love said. "But now we get to build this thing again.”