It started the other night with the Dale Murphy/Bristol post, when something that usually takes an hour or two took all day and it's still here.
I'm going to work my way through it though and here is the biggest and perhaps the most surprising piece of news as the Cleveland Cavaliers extended forward Kevin Love's contract for four additional years at a cost of 120 million dollars.
Love, who most (myself included) was expected to be the asset that brought the most to the Cavaliers as the team attempted to rebuild for life after LeBron James, but the Cavaliers apparently will be trying to rebuild on the fly and avoid the tanking for higher picks that bad teams do.
Love will be the top option and the player that the offense will flow through and I believe his numbers will return to the statistics that he put up during his days in Minnesota that made him so valuable that the Cavaliers traded for him to begin with for Andrew Wiggins.
I'm not sure that Kevin Love's return will be enough to give the Cavaliers a playoff spot, considering the supporting cast, but it is a step towards that goal and I would say that it is at least possible with this move.
Rookie Collin Sexton, Larry Nance Jr and Cedi Osman at least gives the Cavaliers some building blocks around Love and it'll be interesting to see if role players like Kyle Korver are kept around or traded to contenders that might be able to use their skills better.
Love's contract isn't the "supermax" that he could have received but at eight percent less than the max. the cap-strapped Cavaliers gain some flexibility even if it doesn't come until next year when some of the overpriced veterans can be jettisoned with larger cap savings and help with signing future free agents.
The contract is also team friendly and has a no-trade clause only for the next six months, so again down the road, Love's deal makes him far easier to trade than under a supermax deal.
In closing, I find it ironic that the player that was loyal wasn't the local guy, wasn't the first overall pick, but was the person that most of us thought would be the first to leave.
Instead, despite all the barbs and digs (Some well-deserved) from teammates, coaches, and fans, it's Kevin Love that was loyal to the franchise, the area, and their fans.
There are reasons to be a little cynical, Can Love return to being the Alpha Dog after a few years of being the second or third option? Will Love be worth the extension at 34 (that's the final season)?
Is Love the type of number one player that lifts a team to be better than they are (he couldn't in Minnesota)?
No matter your thoughts on those questions, give Kevin Love a lot of credit for loyalty and the Cavaliers for trying to stay somewhat entertaining and competitive.
Still trying to get well, but I'll try to get another post up tonight.
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