FILE – Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on before playing against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on February 15, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
Miami has emerged as the leading suitor to sign five-time All-Star forward Kevin Love, The Athletic reported.
Multiple reports said Love completed a buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.
Miami is a frontrunner because it can offer the 34-year-old veteran “a defined role and playoff positioning,” per The Athletic.
Love averaged 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 41 games (three starts) in his ninth season with the Cavaliers. He did not play in Cleveland’s past 12 contests.
He owns career averages of 17.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 853 games (662 starts) for the Minnesota Timberwolves (2008-14) and Cavaliers.
Love, who was the last remaining member from Cleveland’s 2016 NBA championship team, is in the final season of a four-year, $120 million extension signed in 2018.
The Heat (32-27) entered Saturday with the No. 7 playoff position in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind the New York Knicks for the final guaranteed postseason spot.