NBA veteran Kevin Love recently talked about his Utah Jazz fit and how he wants to end his professional basketball career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Here’s everything Love, 37, said in recent days.
Kevin Love’s Utah Jazz Home
Love has found a home with the Utah Jazz after he opted not to seek a buyout from the club after he was traded by the Heat. He has been a key addition to the Jazz’s young roster. He has been averaging 13.5 minutes per game, while also providing a veteran voice in the team’s locker room, after Walker Kessler suffered a season-ending injury.
Retiring in a Jazz jersey is something the 37-year-old would be content with, but a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers is always on his mind.
“I don’t want to make any assumptions — they’ve been so good to me here already with Utah, and if this is it, then I’m very happy with that,” Love said in an exclusive interview with ESports Insider. “Obviously, Cleveland is a near and dear place to me. But regardless if that happened or not, I’m always going to go back to Cleveland. They were so good to me for my eight-and-a-half seasons there, and continue to be.”
No timeframe For Love’s Career To Conclude
“I think I’m going to continue to love the game. The business side obviously can be up and down, or leave a bad taste in your mouth. But again, so long as I keep loving it and a team has a role for me and I can add value, I’ll be here.”
Love On ‘Amazing’ Fit With the Jazz
“Walker Kessler going down has provided me more minutes, at least in the near future, in the last several games. But again, even if I’m not playing, I think my role — it’s great to have a role in my 18th season — is being able to be that veteran leader, a sound voice, somebody that preaches and acts on accountability and just continues to show what professionalism looks like every single day.”
Love On Jazz Valuing His Veteran Acumen
“I think that that is extremely important, especially with a young team. I think sometimes people can maybe overvalue a veteran in a locker room, but I do believe that the Jazz honor that, and they’re appreciative of it as well. It makes me want to lean in even more and be the vet that, honestly, I never had.”
Love On the Trade That Sent Him From Miami To Utah
“My family and I laid roots in Miami. It was definitely unexpected. I thought that I would end my career there. But again, it’s a business. These things happen, trades happen.”
Love On Understanding Why Miami Made the Trade
“They got better; they got Norman Powell. But yeah, it still stung in the few weeks after the facts. I’ve seen all this before. It doesn’t make it any easier. But at the same time, new opportunities, new spaces, new faces, new relationships that you make throughout the league.”
