After suffering a dislocated shoulder Sunday that is expected to sideline him for at least two weeks, Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love was miffed.
His shoulder came out on a play in which he got tangled up with Boston Celtics center Kelly Olynyk while the two were going after a loose ball.
"I thought it was a bush-league play," Love said afterward. "I have no doubt in my mind that he did it on purpose,"
The Celtics ended up losing the game and the first-round series, but they may have lost far more than that. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Boston had emerged as a serious contender to land Love in the offseason, when he can opt out of his contract with Cleveland.
Love's discomfort with his place on the Cavaliers has been well-documented, and he's gone on record calling this season the most difficult of his career. But in regards to his potential free agency, he's given nothing away. Still, the Celtics were evidently preparing to take a serious crack at him this summer.
From Wojnarowski:
The Celtics were waiting for July, and the chance to let coach Brad Stevens lay out Love's expanded role in his system. General manager Danny Ainge wanted a chance to sell Love on a vision for surrounding him with complementary talent, on maximizing his popularity as New England's next star.
With the first postseason appearance of his career potentially getting cut short thanks to a dirty play by a member of the Celtics, those plans may need to be reworked.
