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The Cleveland Cavaliers remain the odds-on favorites to retain the services of three-time NBA All-Star and unrestricted free agent Kevin Love, but that isn't stopping the Los Angeles Lakers from trying to make things interesting.
Love will reportedly meet with Lakers representatives later this week to hear their free-agency pitch, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard.
The 26-year-old power forward opted out of his 2015-16 player option on June 24, allowing him the freedom to sign with another team if he so desires. Love recently said, though, that he plans on being in a Cavaliers uniform for opening night.
Cleveland came within an eyelash of capturing their first-ever NBA championship, falling short in a six-game series defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. Love suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the opening round against the Boston Celtics, keeping him on the sidelines for all but four postseason games.
Love didn't experience a lick of winning basketball during his tenure with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but in Cleveland, he has a realistic chance of hoisting his first Larry O'Brien Trophy. The complexion of the NBA Finals would have been entirely different had Love and teammate Kyrie Irving been healthy enough to compete.
He didn't put up insane numbers of 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds like he did during his final season in Minny, yet Love still played a huge role in the Cavaliers' 53-win season, putting up a respectable 16.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in 75 appearances.
If signing Love doesn't come to fruition, the Lakers will set their sights on a slew of other high-profile free agents the team has been linked to in recent weeks, including DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers and LaMarcus Aldrdige of the Portland Trail Blazers - two bigs the team would reportedly love to sign to pair in the frontcourt.
