Kevin Love Insists ‘I Love My Teammates’ Following His Latest Visible On-Court Frustration

As the NBA’s trade deadline approaches, Kevin Love is the biggest name expected to be moved at some point over the next month. Love has been visibly frustrated by the Cavaliers rebuild, both in actions on the court and in apparent arguments off of it with management.

On Saturday, following a report in the morning that Love had gotten into it with GM Koby Altman over an outburst on the bench that resulted in a fine — and Love saying they can keep fining him because he’s rich — Love snapped on the court on the final possession of the first half. Love demanded the ball from second-year guard Collin Sexton, before rifling the ball over to Cedi Osman on the wing for a last second shot, that funnily enough resulted in a foul and three free throws.

He also had a moment on defense in the second half where he turned his back on the play and simply walked to the corner of the court.

All of this is to say, things are bad in Cleveland right now with their star forward and something has to change. The prevailing thought has been Love is frustrated with the young guards on the Cavs that have struggled in initiating the offense and moving the ball in a timely manner, but he insisted on Instagram after the game he loves his teammates and his frustrations lie elsewhere.

In a comment, Love acknowledged the play at the end of the first half, noting that his issue wasn’t with Sexton, but instead was with the play call.

There were anonymous frustrations about John Beilein earlier this season from the Cavs locker room and it seems fair to assume Love is chief among those displeased with his new coach. Many of Love’s teammates commented on his IG post saying they love him back.

That young players like Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. are among those commenting makes this all the more interesting, as the divide appears to be more between Love and management than Love and the young players — although this all could be guys putting on a happy face on social media.

Whatever the case, things appear to be nearing a state of disrepair with the Love situation in Cleveland. Whether it comes to an end in the next month with Love being traded or not is the biggest question, as if it lingers throughout the second half of the season that seems detrimental to all parties. There’s no doubt Love has handled some things poorly, particularly on the court, but we also don’t know what the full extent of the frustration is.

When Love signed his deal post-LeBron leaving, most assumed a full rebuild was on the way but Love might’ve had a different understanding of how the next few years would go. As for his issues with Beilein, there is clearly a disconnect between the star and something (or things) his new coach is doing. Channing Frye recently issued some critiques and thoughts on how the rotation is being handled in Cleveland as to part of what may be causing the frustration for Cavs veterans — along with the play of Sexton being an issue, but not totally his fault.

It seems like it would be best for everyone if they parted ways with Love soon, but whether the Cavs get an offer that matches the value they believe they should get for him over the next month remains to be seen.