Kevin Love started right away. He is officially a Miami Heat player.
After clearing waivers on Monday afternoon, the five-time All-Star and 15-year NBA veteran agreed to join the Heat for the remainder of the season. The former Cleveland Cavaliers forward was in Miami for the signing and intended to begin training immediately at his new team’s facility.
When the Miami Heat return from their All-Star break on Thursday, Love will participate in his first official practice, and he could make his Heat debut as early as Friday against Milwaukee.
Love has won the NBA, the Olympic Games, and the FIBA World Cup. He ranks 19th among NBA players with 1,536 made 3-pointers, which places him 42nd on the list.
Bam Adebayo, a Heat center, said he would call coach Erik Spoelstra on Monday to start a conversation about how he and Love might be able to play together. Adebayo had hoped that Love would come to Miami if the Cavaliers bought him out.
“Spo’s smart. He’ll figure it out, how we’re going to handle things,” Adebayo told The Associated Press. “It’s exciting. We’ve got fresh legs on the team. We’ve got a guy like Kevin Love, who has been through those wars, came back from 3-1 (with Cleveland against Golden State in the 2016 NBA Finals). You’ve got a battle-tested guy like that who has won. It’s big for us.”
Love has averaged 17.2 points and 10.5 rebounds over portions of 15 NBA seasons with Cleveland and Minnesota. He found the middle value of profession lows of 8.5 places, 6.8 bounce back and 20 minutes for each game in 41 games, practically all as a save, this season for Cleveland and didn’t play in the group’s last 12 games before the Top pick break.
That was the reason for the buyout talks and Love’s eventual move to the Heat. Additionally, he spoke with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Adebayo compares Love to current Heat forward Udonis Haslem in terms of leadership and former Heat center Meyers Leonard in terms of his ability to space the floor, talk on defense, and bring help defending the rim. Adebayo also draws parallels between Love and two other players.
“He’s smart, he stretches the floor, and you can learn from guy like that, having a guy like that in your corner,” Adebayo said. “Him and UD, two different walks of life, but now they’re kind of going down the same road. Having guys like that, it’ll help me tremendously. He’s an all-around great person.”
No will be loved. 42, which he wore while playing for Minnesota and while attending UCLA.
Cody Zeller, a center who had been out of the market for some time, was added to the Heat’s roster on Monday. In 494 games played with Charlotte and Portland, he has averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.
In the 2013 draft, the fourth pick was the 6-foot-11 center.
“He’s really underrated as a team player,” Adebayo said. “He’s underrated for what he does. I know what he’ll bring to our team will make us more successful.”
With a record of 32-27, Miami will finish the All-Star break seventh in the Eastern Conference, five games behind Cleveland for the No. 4 spot. In the first round of the playoffs, the top four teams in each conference will have home-court advantage, and the top six teams in each conference will skip the play-in tournament to determine the seventh and eighth seeds.
