According to reports, Kevin Love intends to remain in the NBA for his 17th and 18th seasons.
Love and the Miami Heat are settling on a two-year deal worth about $8 million so that he can stay on South Beach, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. After Love turned down his $4 million player option on Saturday, everything came together.
Sources on ESPN: Miami Heat F/C Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted, “Kevin Love is declining his $4 million player option, but both sides are excited about negotiating a new deal in the first few days of free agency.”
Love was traded from Cleveland to Miami, where he has spent the last 1.5 seasons. He began his professional career with the Minnesota Timberwolves and played for them for about eight seasons before joining the Cavaliers.
In the association, Love has averaged 16.5 points and 10.1 rebounds during the past 15 years. He was a pillar of the Minnesota Timberwolves organization before joining LeBron James and Kyrie Irving as a trio in The Land.
Among his accomplishments are two All-NBA selections, five All Star selections, and an NBA Championship with the Cavaliers in 2016. While with the Wolves, he led the league in rebounds, was named an All-Rookie selection, and was the league’s Most Improved Player.
In his 76 games with the Heat, Love has averaged six rebounds and 8.5 points. Because of his brief tenure there in ’22–’23, he contributed to their run to the NBA Finals.
After playing just one season of collegiate ball at UCLA—most notably with Russell Westbrook—Love turned pro. He averaged 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds while guiding the Bruins to victory in the Pac-10 and a trip to the Final Four. As a result, he was selected as a consensus All-American as a freshman and was named all-league and all-rookie. In the 2008 NBA Draft, Minnesota selected him with the fifth overall pick as a result of it.
At this stage of his career, Love has evolved into a respected veteran, especially in a prestigious company like the Heat. He will now be returning to Miami to play his final two seasons in the league there.
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