Kevin Love and LeBron James had a cold start thanks to a cryptic tweet!
People forget that Kevin Love was a total beast in Minnesota. In his last season with the Timberwolves, he averaged 26 points. His stats on a losing team is a perfect example of what ignites the debates of players getting snubbed for the All-Star team on losing teams.
Despite Love’s high-powered antics, the Timberwolves barely broke 25 wins every year.
His first season with James and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland was a challenge, to be kind. Love’s scoring dropped to 16.4 points his first year, and then dipped to 16.0 on 41% shooting his second season.
His confidence looked like a wreck at times. Maybe it was because of this passive-aggressive tweet.
Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN. Be apart of something special! Just my thoughts
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 8, 2015
Kevin Love wasn’t happy with the jab on social media. His thoughts at the time to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.
"“All I wanted was a little bit of love. All I wanted was (a pat on the back, an arm around the shoulder). I never got that,” said Love. “I think I just wanted a little bit of love. Not even notoriety, just an acknowledgment of, “Hey, listen, we know that you’re sacrificing.” That was not there the first year. I think Champ (James Jones) helped me to understand, “Listen, just be yourself and everything else will fall into place.” But to really fully get there, it took me a year and some change.”"
Considering that the Cleveland Cavaliers dealt their two previous number one picks in Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett to get Kevin Love, it shows how bad things were getting when rumors floated around back in 2016 for Ryan Anderson.
Yes, fans, Kyle Kuzma might want to turn off the phone periodically from the offseason to the next trade deadline.
Cleveland remains very active. Cavs in talks with Pelicans about Ryan Anderson. A 3-team deal that includes Kevin Love still in play.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) February 17, 2016
But until, then Kyle Kuzma needs to take this advice from Love, via Bleacher Report.
"“The key with being that third guy is taking advantage of the opportunity. When you’re the third guy, you know you’re going to sacrifice. When I got to Cleveland I joined two ball-dominant guys, so I had to find where I fit. I had to master my role on the team and know that I had to do other things that didn’t show up on the stat sheet. When you have a chance to win a championship, there’s going to be some sacrifice.”"
Here’s the difference between Kyle Kuzma and the other players in the LeBron era of lost stats and star power. Kuzma’s game overall hasn’t regressed this year. Injuries have sapped the opportunities like his predecessors. The Lakers just needs to be patient just like Golden State did with Klay Thompson after they signed Kevin Durant.