Kevin Love trolled everyone Friday, but was he really kidding?

(Warning: Story contains coarse language)

Kevin Love appeared to be in the mood to troll the world Friday - including his teammates, the media, and even himself. The NBA champion and now five-time All-Star was reportedly the target of much internal criticism earlier this week, and his public response involved a streak of rascality.

The antics started at shootaround. When asked if he knew where he went in the clandestine All-Star draft, Love jokingly suggested he was probably picked "dead last," then compared himself to a grudgingly selected player in a summer pickup game.

The self-deprecation got a laugh in the moment, but there had been legitimate curiosity about whether teammate and All-Star captain LeBron James would actively try to eschew playing with Love in the exhibition game. (For what it's worth, Love reportedly wasn't the last pick, and James wasn't forced to draft him.)

That's how Love warmed up. When game time rolled around, the veteran big tossed his shooting shirt in the face of a displeased Jeff Green, much to rookie Cedi Osman's apparent horror.

It wasn't until reporters were talking to Love after the game that Green seemed to clarify that the shirt toss wasn't an act of actual contempt.

"You see that s--- you started? They thought that was serious, man," Green yelled to Love from across the room.

"It was," a deadpan Love replied. "I don't like you, Jeff."

Love's grand finale, however, blurred the line between ribbing and outright disrespect.

After corralling an errant shot attempt by the Indiana Pacers, Love didn't simply pass to Isaiah Thomas. Instead, he turned to his teammate, bent over, and waited for the 5-foot-9 guard to accept the ball out of his hands. Twitter users were quick to compare the gesture to an adult handing a ball to a small child.

One Cavaliers source suggested to ESPN's Dave McMenamin that the exaggerated handoff showed Love was trying to embarrass Thomas. If true, that would be a remarkable departure from the players' long, friendly history.

As a teenager, Thomas routinely traveled from Washington and stayed with Love's family in Oregon in order to play on the same AAU team. Both also participated in the ABCD Camp.

On the other hand, childhood nostalgia didn't prevent Thomas from reportedly being a vocal critic of Love at a recent team meeting, which McMenamin's source cited as the root of Love's in-game display.

As the saying goes, there's a grain of truth in every joke, though perhaps Love's greatest troll is aimed squarely at those dissecting his every move.