The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached a buyout agreement with forward Kevin Love, Cavs President of Basketball Operations Kolby Altman announced on Saturday.
The agreement marks the end of an era for Love, who was the longest-tenured member of the Cavaliers, marking his ninth season with the organization.
“Kevin Love had an outstanding run with the Cavaliers, including memorable on-court moments, four NBA Finals appearances and an NBA Championship in 2016,” said Altman. “Kevin represented the organization and the city of Cleveland with the utmost charm and professionalism during his nine seasons in Northeast Ohio."
Love was the last remaining player on the roster to have been part of the 2016 championship team.
Altman also said that Love's jersey will "ultimately" be retired.
"He also embodied everything a franchise would want in a player, and the admiration and gratitude we have for him will ultimately land his jersey in the rafters of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. We thank Kevin for his impact and wish him nothing but the best, knowing that he has solidified his place in the hearts of Cavaliers fans and this organization forever," he said.
During Love's time in Cleveland, he played in 489 games with 380 starts, marking the 12th-most games in team history. He averaged 15.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game with the Cavaliers.
Love represented the Cavs in the All-Star game in 2017 and 2018. The five-time All-Star appeared in the game for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2011, 2012 and 2014, shortly before being traded to Cleveland.
The #Cavs have officially announced the contract buyout with Kevin Love.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) February 18, 2023
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
