On July 7, veteran forward/center Kevin Love was traded to the Jazz in the three-team deal that sent Norman Powell to the Heat and John Collins to the Clippers.
About a month later, Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that Love was “actively exploring potential pathways out of Utah,” including a buyout. However, Stein didn’t list any possible suitors for Love, who remains on the Jazz’s roster a few weeks before training camps are set to open.
Love is on an expiring contract, which will pay him $4.15MM this season.
Within a story about the types of skill sets the Nuggets might consider targeting with their 15th standard roster spot, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post reports that Love is “widely expected to be traded or bought out by” the Jazz before the 2025/26 season begins, and when that happens, he’s likely to land with a contending team.
That doesn’t mean Love will end up in Denver; Durando makes it clear he’s just floating an idea. But it’s interesting — albeit unsurprising — that Love is reportedly unlikely to stick with the Jazz, who had the worst record in the NBA last season (17-65).
Forward depth may not be Denver’s highest priority, but Durando notes that reserves Peyton Watson, DaRon Holmes II, Zeke Nnaji and Hunter Tyson are all young and relatively inexperienced. Perhaps most importantly, Watson is the only player of the group who has shown he can be a rotation regular to this point.
Love, meanwhile, turned 37 years old today (happy birthday) and is entering his 18th NBA season after being selected fifth overall in the 2008 draft. The five-time All-Star hasn’t played much the past few years, largely serving as a veteran mentor in Cleveland and Miami, though he did finish runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year in 2021/22.
Durando also points out the Love has a longstanding relationship with head coach David Adelman, who was an assistant for part of Love’s tenure in Minnesota.
For what it’s worth, Durando says point-of-attack defense and point guard depth are the other two areas the Nuggets might want to address at some point. As our Luke Adams noted in his Offseason Check-In, Denver has been a taxpayer for three straight years and is operating just over the luxury tax threshold, so the team may be motivated to finish the season below the tax — an important first step toward resetting the repeater clock.