The Boston Celtics like Kevin Love as a friend.
Do they love him?
Eh.
Last summer, the Celtics were one of the teams most frequently mentioned in the same breath as Love. He wanted out of Minnesota, and Celtics president Danny Ainge had assets to sling. None of those assets ultimately caught the attention of Timberwolves coach and president Flip Saunders, but had the Cavaliers balked at entering negotiations and dangling the No. 1 overall pick in Andrew Wiggins, the Celtics were one of the few teams capable of putting together a package that pried Love out of Minnesota, even if the team itself accepted said package reluctantly.
With Love able to enter free agency this summer, the Celtics have not given up on him. They’re just not as into him.
From the Boston Herald‘s Steve Bulpett:
Last offseason we told you a Kevin Love-to-the-Celtics trade was a non-starter because the Timberwolves simply didn’t want what the C’s were offering. And Flip Saunders proved wise in waiting, extracting top overall pick Andrew Wiggins from Cleveland for his patience.
This year, even though Love’s path to Boston could seemingly be more clear — all he has to do is opt out of the final year of his contract, not wait out a trade — things have gotten significantly more problematic from a Celtics point of view.
According to all sources, Danny Ainge still has affection for Love, but it’s not nearly the borderline obsession that it was last summer. …
The Celtics will very likely wind up an afterthought as Love examines his options in the next two months, but a source with direct knowledge insists the club does hold interest for the All-Star forward.
But where last summer the C’s were perfectly fine with throwing picks and players at Minnesota for Love and then giving him a large contract extension when allowed, they are said to be more careful this time around.
Bulpett also mentions that the Celtics aren’t hell-bent on avoiding a long rebuild anymore. Last summer was about pairing Love with Rajon Rondo and putting a core in place that would contend for a playoff spot every year. Now, with Rondo and Jeff Green gone, and the Celtics flush with youngsters, adding established talent isn’t the priority it was before.
But let’s be real: This is just as much about Love as the Celtics. The latter can play it coy, as if they’re not interested, but that’s just for show, a response to reality: Love probably isn’t leaving Cleveland.
Boom.
This isn’t last year, when we knew Love was unhappy and wanted out of his situation. Though rumors abound, Love is on record declaring his allegiance to the Cavaliers and intent to return. It would be foolish for the Celtics to put all their eggs in his basket when his basket might not even reach the open market.
Maybe the Celtics aren’t infatuated with Love anymore. Maybe they’re concerned about his increasingly awkward health bill.
Or maybe, just maybe, they know their chances of acquiring him are worse than they were last year, so they’re hardly even going to bother to try.
