Kevin Love Apologizes as Cavs Attempt to Kiss and Make Up

Kevin Love has apologized to his teammates for committing the worst turnover of the season during the third quarter of the Cavs’ game against the Toronto Raptors on Monday.

In that play, Love appeared to have given up on the game ( and perhaps the team?) when he lifelessly gave the ball away to the Raptors on an inbound play that resulted in a three-point make for Toronto.

Love’s action has filled sports headlines and has left the basketball world wondering what happens to him next. However, Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff said that the team is handling the matter internally and they intend to move on from the incident after Love’s apology. But there may be more to the incident than meets the eye.

Not the First Time for Love

After Toronto converted on a layup, Love was shoved in the back and ran into the stanchion. Official Brandon Schwab then tossed the ball to the irritated Love so he could inbound it. Already angry, Love spiked the ball with his left hand and since the ball went inside the court, it was considered an inbound pass. Unfortunately, the ball went to the hands of the Raptors who converted on a three-point basket.

But this isn’t the first time that Kevin Love has shown frustration on the court while donning a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform. Last season, there was a play when he got mad at Colin Sexton holding on to the ball too long and as soon as Sexton passed it to him, Love threw the ball right away to Cedi Usman as if to prove a point.

Kevin Love Is Very Frustrated

Love came to Cleveland in 2014 after he was fed up with six years of losing in Minnesota. Over the next four years, the Cavaliers played in four straight NBA Finals, winning the title in 2016. But after LeBron James left Cleveland in 2018, the Cavs have gone south and Love, who signed a four-year $120M extension in 2018, got stuck in a rebuild with a bunch of young guys.

The Cavs are 21-40 this season and have the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference. The team won just 18 games each during the previous two seasons for a veteran who has chased championships before, this isn’t how you want to close out your career. And it’s obviously not the way Love thinks he should go out.

But while Love has valid reasons for feeling frustrated, the fact stands that he is still a Cavalier and as a professional basketball player, he should act that way. He is the most decorated member of his team and his younger teammates look up to him. For sure, he isn’t inspiring them right now. And for sure, the Cavs are thinking of their options with him moving forward.