Tyronn Lue says he’ll talk to Kevin Love about Love’s future with the Cavs

With the LeBron James’ free agency decision over and done with, the only other elephant in the room concerning the Cleveland Cavaliers offseason is what they are going to do with Kevin Love.

Head coach Tyronn Lue was asked about Love’s status during an interview with Eddie Johnson on SiriusXM NBA Radio. When asked if he has had the conversation with Love about what is going to be expected of him, Lue made a point of saying that Love has earned the right to be in a better situation if he wants that.

“Me and Koby Altman talked about it,” Lue said during the interview. “He’s a big part of what we’re gonna do going forward. We gotta see if he wants to be here for us to rebuild, and to help the young guys out and mature the young guys. We’ve just got to see how he feels and what he wants to do. I think he’s earned that respect from us, from myself, from our organization, that if he wants to be in a better position then we gotta get him there. And he’s earned that right.”

Lue went on to say that from everything he’s been hearing, Love by all indications wants to stay in Cleveland. If he does remain a member of the Cavaliers, he will presumably be the first option offensively, along with being a mentor to the younger players like Lue mentioned.

“From all I’ve been hearing from Koby, he wants to stay, he wants to be there,” Lue said. “So we’re happy to have Kevin. Every year he takes all the criticism. For me, he’s been great. He’s been 20 and 10 every year. Being a third guy, to get 20 and 10 that’s remarkable. He’s carried a franchise before in Minnesota and now he’s gonna have the same opportunity here in Cleveland. So I’m excited for Kevin, I think he’s excited, and we’ll go from there.”

If the Cavs do not move Love, the obvious risk comes next summer when Love has a player option in his contract and can become a free agent. If he chooses not to opt in, the Cavaliers would get nothing for him in return.

However, if their goal for the 2018-19 season is still to make the playoffs and try to prevent what happened from 2010-14, keeping Love would almost be a necessity unless another team in the league makes them an offer they can’t refuse.