Some NBA owners have a tendency to hold grudges when the star players on their team decide that it’s time to abandon ship, so it was no surprise when Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor provided a pretty good example of having some bad feelings towards Kevin Love when asked to speak about his former franchise player.
To summarize, Taylor more or less said the following about Love: he’s the third best player on the Cleveland Cavaliers, he is injury prone, doesn’t play defense (and fouls a lot when he does), and is in a can’t-win situation by playing next to LeBron James.
Word eventually got around to Love, and here is what the power forward had to say about Taylor’s comments, from ESPN:
“I think emotions are definitely running high right now,” Love told “Mike & Mike.” “For Glen to say that, I just think that he should be focusing on the players that he just received. I mean, he has two of the No. 1 picks in the last two drafts:Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. He has another guy who can really play in Thaddeus Young.
“I think he got a lot for me. So I’d be focusing even more on that. More than anything, I’m just excited to start my time in Cleveland, get to work with my new teammates, and start with this new family here.”
Overall, that’s a pretty good reaction. Love understood that things may have been said out of emotion and chose to stay away from stirring up more drama than there needed to be on Taylor’s comments and even complimented the amount of talent Minnesota was able to gain by trading him.
Perhaps Love will eventually open up about how he really felt about his time with the Timberwolves and what he thinks of Taylor as an owner, but he is the clear winner in this situation. He essentially forced Minnesota’s hands into trading him, and probably couldn’t have asked for a better situation than the one he is in right now, so there is no sense in throwing cheap shots at a clearly-irritated former employer. If he did want to go the route of firing back at Taylor (and make him look silly in the process), here are some things from Ben Golliver of SI that most certainly could have been used to his advantage.
As for Love in Cleveland, he’s technically only signed to be with the team for one year. That doesn’t mean he’s planning on exploring his options next season, though, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN explains why it makes no sense for Love to commit to the Cavaliers beyond this season even if he wanted to (and he presumably does) in this piece:
The raw dollars are the easiest part of this situation to digest. By waiting until next summer to do a new contract, Love can make $2 million more per season than if he were to do it now. In total, Love can guarantee himself an additional $70 million by waiting.
That’s why not signing with the Cavs now is in the no-brainer zone, regardless of how positive the feelings are at the moment.
I’m about to present a bunch of numbers, and it’s easy to get confused. Before diving in, just know that no agent would advise Love to sign now. And Love has one of the best agents working in the game, Jeff Schwartz. There’s really not much of a discussion.
Let’s attempt to explain this with some depth. If Love wanted to sign with the Cavs today, it would have to be an extension of his current contract. The word “extension” is important here because of the way the NBA rules are set up on extensions versus new contracts.
In 2012, Love signed a four-year, $61 million deal with the Wolves where the last season, the 2016-17 season, was a player option. Love will make $15.7 million this season, and his option for next season is $16.7 million.
The Cavs would be quite happy to sign Love to an “extension” to start with the 2016-17 season because he’d have to pick up that player option. An extension, however, could be for just two additional years and $37.3 million through the 2017-18 season under league rules. Doing it this way over the next four seasons, Love would be assured to earn $70 million.
If Love waits until next summer and starts a new contract with the Cavs, he could earn an estimated $76 million over the next four years. If he wanted the maximum years, he could actually sign for up to five years and an estimated $107 million if he wanted to next year.
Summing it up, if Love signed today, he’d assure himself $37 million more guaranteed. If he waits until next summer, he can assure himself $107 million more guaranteed.
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE:
It’s no secret that Steve Ballmer believes in Doc Rivers, and the new owner proved that notion in a big way on Wednesday, from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “Doc Rivers’ new five-year contract to be president and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers is worth more than $50 million, league sources told Yahoo Sports. New Clippers owner Steve Ballmer announced Rivers’ extension on Wednesday. The team replaced the remaining two years on his original three-year, $21 million deal with a new contract that runs through the 2018-19 season. Ballmer and Rivers had been eager to forge a long-term partnership since Ballmer purchased the Clippers from the Sterling family for $2 billion. Through the release of the Donald Sterling audio tapes that led to his banishment by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Rivers became a pivotal figure in holding together the franchise’s value and keeping the team moving forward through the crisis.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Cavaliers are trying to acquire Timofey Mozgov or Kosta Koufos to be a backup center (via Rotoworld): “The Cavaliers are still trying to acquire Timofey Mozgov, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. As the Cavs continue their search for a center to backup Anderson Varejao, their search is focused on the Nuggets’ Mozgov and Kosta Koufos of the Memphis Grizzlies. Windhorst adds that the Cavs have been trying to acquire Mozgov for the last six to eight weeks while the Grizzlies are reluctant to part with Koufos due to Marc Gasol’s injury last season. Mozgov wouldn’t have much fantasy value in Cleveland, but a trade could open up more minutes for JaVale McGee and J.J. Hickson in Denver.”
- Shannon Brown has agreed to join the Miami Heat for one year, according to Sam Amick of USA Today: “Shannon Brown’s contract with the Miami Heat is for one year at $1.3 million, I’m told.”
Lionel Hollins doesn’t believe there is much loyalty left in the NBA, from Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game: “When asked about how money affects roles in the NBA, Hollins referred specifically to loyalty, reminding the radio hosts that players, coaches, and management should stay in their roles. “I think it’s up to players to play, coaches to coach, and management to do what they have to do to provide the talent for the coach for the great players that are on their team to help them go further,” Hollins said. “I think everybody, our society has moved towards now not a lot of loyalty, run for this, run for that, whether it be money, whether it be for to be with better players.”
- Hollins also discussed the unfair disparity between the amount that stars and average players make: “I think that if you go back, you look in the 70s and 80s, a lot of the great teams had great players, had a lot of great players. The difference between then and now is that the disparity between the top players salary-wise and everybody else wasn’t so distant,” Hollins said… “The gap now is so huge that yourselves and the media and the fans and sometimes management and sometimes owners think because they make so much money, they’re on a different level every other way,” Hollins said. But no superstar has ever won a championship by himself, and I don’t think that those players should be treated any differently, because it takes a team to win, and everybody’s important and valuable to your team for success.”… “I tell the players all the time, listen, when you walk out on that court, from the first day of training camp, money does not matter to you,” Hollins added. “You have all this money, whatever it may be, but when you start running line drills, and when you start diving for loose balls and taking charges, money does not matter. It doesn’t help you love the game more, it doesn’t help you play better. You are who you are, and you have to go out there and continue to be consistently who you are as you’re trying to perform and help your team win.”
Dion Waiters explained what he needs to do while sharing the court with LeBron James, and says Kevin Love likes his game. Mike Sielski of The Inquirer has details: ““I hate losing, and a guy like [James], who’s probably the best player in the world right now, is someone I can learn from. I can grow. I still haven’t reached my peak. Now with a guy like that, he can open up the floor for you and give you a lot of opportunities.”… “When I get the opportunity to get the ball, I’ve got to destroy my opponent,” he said. “The rest of the floor is going to be so wide open that, once I get by him, the rest of it should be easy.”… Whenever he’s in Los Angeles, Waiters also trains regularly with Kevin Love, who joined him and James with the Cavaliers as the primary piece of the three-team trade that sent Andrew Wiggins and Young to the Timberwolves. “He likes my game,” Waiters said. “He thinks I’m underrated. One of the things about K-Love, he knows I pass the ball.”
Mark Cuban discussed the difference between how he handles the Dallas Mavericks versus how Daryl Morey handles the Houston Rockets, from The Dallas Morning News: “On the Rockets making inquiries on Dirk in the trade market: “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ He asked if we’d trade Dirk. At first I thought it was taunting, but now knowing more about Daryl I don’t think it was in hindsight. That’s just not his style. It says a lot about their approach more than anything else. They just have a different understanding and approach to chemistry than we do. Some teams, and that’s not just the Rockets, just put together talent and the talent takes care of itself. We think chemistry matters. When Carmelo came to visit us, there was no chance that we were going to put him in someone else’s jersey number and put it on the outside of the arena. That’s not our style.”
With Kevin Durant out of the picture, Jerry Colangelo believes James Harden is the man to fill the leadership role for Team USA, from Michael Lee of Washington Post: “Right now, I think I would look to Harden as that leader,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said as his team continues to prepare for the tournament in which the winner earns an automatic berth in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. “Harden is kind of a natural leader and he seems to be willing to accept that role. And you can just kind of feel it and sense. He’s the one.”… “I don’t know if he’s been waiting [to lead]. It’s evolved,” Colangelo said. “He came in as a pretty high draft pick. Got off to a great start in Oklahoma City. Whether he was disappointed or surprised by what transpired, he found himself in another uniform and that’s part of life in pro sports and the NBA, and I think he’s adjusted to that and his numbers get bigger and he’s being recognized more and more as the player he is. And this is a great platform for him to come out as a leader.”
Harden explained why his defense has intensified with Team USA (his teammates in Houston might not love the answer): “Surprisingly, Harden has earned praise from Coach Mike Krzyzewksi for his effort on defense, an end of the floor where he was so uninterested that a YouTube clip of his foibles making an honest effort caught steam last season. He has no choice on this team. “First of all, you got the top players in the world on your team, so if you’re not focused and locked in on defense, they are going to embarrass you,” Harden said. “I think our coach has done a phenomenal job of making sure we’re keyed in. [Chicago Bulls Coach and Team USA assistant Tom] Thibodeau is phenomenal with that defensive presence, so all those things collectively is why I’m so locked in… “This is a different platform,” Harden said. “A platform that I haven’t really been on before, but I think most of us haven’t been on it, either. I think we’re all kind of figuring it out together. That’s what’s going to be so special about this team. We figure it out together and we come out with a gold medal, it makes it that much more special.
Eric Gordon is finally enjoying a pain-free offseason, according to Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com: “It’s been a great summer,” said Gordon, a guest on Wednesday’s Black and Blue Report podcast show. “I’ve been mostly healthy throughout the summer. The month of June, I was back on the court, starting to work out. After that, it was smooth sailing.”… “That’s what I’ve really been working on, explosiveness to the rim, trying to beat people (off the dribble),” he said. “I don’t think I was very consistent, because with all of the injuries, it would slow me down at times, because I would be so hesitant to make a move or even explode to the basket at times. It’s always good to have that mentality where you can beat people off the dribble without even thinking about that injury, just having that mindset that you’re unguardable… Each season’s been getting better the past two or three years. This year has been well because I’ve actually been able to work out as hard and as long as I want to, during the summer. So it’s been a lot better.”
Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report wrote this fantastic article, describing the mindset of Klay Thompson and what makes him the shooter that he is. The first portion explains what Thompson did to get out of a shooting slump last season: “First, I need to make five shots from five different spots in the mid-range area. Then, I need to make three spot-up three-pointers, three transition three-pointers and one three from five spots around the arc. After that, I do a couple of pin-downs from each side, and then I’ve got to make three in a row from each baseline corner. I start at the top and run to the corner. I’ve got to make six total. I created the routine and took some things from the Warriors’ coaching staff. I used to shoot a lot more before the game, and then I went through a shooting slump last season in January. Former assistant coach Lindsey Hunter told me to cut my routine down, saying, “Don’t leave your game on the floor.” So I cut my routine in half, and my shooting percentage went up in the following months. It used to be 30, 40 minutes. Now it’s 15, 20 minutes.”
- Thompson also handed in a daily-diary piece to The SF Chronicle discussing a wide range of topics, including his thoughts on Paul George’s injury and why Kevin Durant may have left the team. Rusty Simmons transcribed the work: “Las Vegas was a great competitive environment, but the Paul George injury was a terrible experience for everybody. I can’t imagine what Paul is feeling, but I believe that he will come back stronger. You never want to see one of your friends/teammates/co-workers go down like that. It could have happened to any of us, and it was really disheartening. He’s such a big-time star, and injuries are never easy – no matter the sport. K.D. (Kevin Durant, who decided to drop out after the George injury) has played on the past three U.S. teams, so I don’t think a World Cup was on the top of his list right now. But that wasn’t the way the rest of us were thinking or talking. A lot of us haven’t had the opportunity to compete for a world championship, so we weren’t really contemplating leaving. You know, injuries are part of it and can happen in this environment or playing pick-up.”
James Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
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I don’t believe Taylor holds a grudge towards Love. More the case that Glen has paid his salary for six years, had him to his home several times, and Love doesn’t as much as call Glen.
Please Please use Windhorst’s name very sparingly. The same guy that said Kyrie would not sign an extension hated his team mates, coach and then would taunt Cleveland fans this summer by saying “Sorry CAV fans, don’t get your hopes up high on LeBron; he’s not coming back”. He only backed down from that stance after a couple of weeks after Sheridan Hoops said otherwise.
PREACH!!!