Kevin Love Thought LeBron’s Fit In Tweet Was Passive-Aggressive, But ‘I Did Have To Find My Way’

Kevin Love wasn’t immediately a perfect fit when he first joined the Cavaliers. The star big man struggled to mesh with two ball-dominant players in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Off the court, there was some apparent tension as everyone began to gel. As Love was trying to find his form, James posted a cryptic tweet.

It’s hard to say whether the tweet worked or not, but in a recent interview with Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, Love was asked about getting called out in James’ unique way. As Love tells it, he’s now able to look back on everything, something that he may not have been able to do right away.

I think on one end it was extremely passive-aggressive and silly. But at the same time, I feel like I did have to find my way and fit in. But it wasn’t an easy process for me. I think right now if that happened — it wouldn’t because I believe who I am now and the growth I’ve had — but I truly believe that you have to understand. That’s why I never make assumptions. We’ve talked before about “The Four Agreements,” right? Never make assumptions, never take anything personally. Well, obviously I took that personally. I wish I could’ve handed them that book and been like, “Listen, you’ve got to understand what it was like to be the main focus, 20 shots a night, be ‘the guy.’” My star dimmed a little bit to have to sacrifice. So at least just acknowledge it. All I wanted was a little bit of love. All I wanted was (a pat on the back, an arm around the shoulder). I never got that. I think I just wanted a little bit of love. Not even notoriety, just an acknowledgment of, “Hey, listen, we know that you’re sacrificing.” That was not there the first year. I think Champ (James Jones) helped me to understand, “Listen, just be yourself and everything else will fall into place.” But to really fully get there, it took me a year and some change.

As Love said, there was an adjustment period going from being a superstar in Minnesota to being what he needed to be in Cleveland. Once he figured that out, everything started to fall in to place. Of course, that wasn’t all on Love — he needed his teammates to back him up more. Eventually, James and Love were a good compliment for one another on the floor. Combine that with some of the efforts the pair made to get on the same page, like meeting together by a pool the following summer, and by the end of their time there, Love was one of the people that James trusted the most.