by Nina Peyrat

About a week ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers said goodbye to Kevin Love as he signed with the Miami Heat.

Kevin Love was definitely a favorite of the fans of the Cavs. He was originally drafted to the Memphis Grizzlies, but quickly traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, starting his NBA career. He played six seasons with them before coming to Cleveland. He has been here for almost 10 years and helped lead the team to the championships in 2016. He is also a five time NBA Allstar. During his time in Cleveland, he never fails to bring a positive energy to the court and has become a spokesperson for mental health, speaking out about his struggles with the subject. He started the Kevin Love Fund in 2018 that researches, educates, and brings help to people struggling with mental health issues. More recently, as a newer generation of Cavs are growing, Love has acted both as a mentor and friend to his teammates. 

So why did this beloved player leave?  When rumors of Love leaving the Cavs started spreading, Miami Heat player, Bam Adebayo called the Miami coach, Erik Spoelstra, to start the conversation of potentially signing Love. Love requested to leave because of his lack of playing time. He was the oldest player on the Cavs at 34 years old, and was constantly getting benched and rested instead of playing. He also was having trouble playing with his thumb injury at the beginning of the season. The Cavs came to an agreement and decided to buy him out and he signed with the Heat on February 22. Since then he was on the starting line up of the past three Heat games.

Cleveland will definitely miss Kevin Love, but I, for one, am so excited to see what he does next with the Heat!