After the deal sending Kevin Love to Cleveland was completed last weekend with former No. 1 pick’s Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett heading to Minnesota along with Philly’s Thaddeus Young in the three-team swap, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor kicked a little dirt on his former star. Love responded to his former owner’s comments on the “Mike and Mike” show this morning.
Yesterday, Taylor questioned Love’s ability to co-exist with stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland and mentioned whether some of his bad habits in Minnesota will be tolerated on a championship contender like Cleveland has now become:
“I think where maybe he got away with some stuff not playing defense on our team, I’m not sure that’s how it’s going to work in Cleveland. I would guess they’re going to ask him to play more defense, and he’s foul-prone.
“I question Kevin if this is going to be the best deal for him, because I think he’s going to be the third player on the team,” Taylor continued on Tuesday. “I don’t think he’s going to get a lot of credit if they do really well. I think he’ll get blame if they don’t do well. He’s around a couple guys that are awful good.”
Taylor even mentioned Love’s injury history, and why Cleveland should be concerned:
“The only thing I still have a question mark about is health. I had that concern then [when they negotiated his previous contract], and I still have that concern. I think Cleveland should have that concern, too.”
Love responded this morning by saying he believes Taylor got a lot in return for him, and the ‘Wolves’ owner should focus on those players he’s acquired rather than worry about how Love might fit in with Cleveland.
As transcribed by ESPN.com, here’s what Love said:
“I think emotions are definitely running high right now. For Glen to say that, I just think that he should be focusing on the players that he just received. I mean, he has two of the No. 1 picks in the last two drafts: Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. He has another guy who can really play in Thaddeus Young.
“I think he got a lot for me. So I’d be focusing even more on that. More than anything, I’m just excited to start my time in Cleveland, get to work with my new teammates, and start with this new family here.”
As mentioned by us yesterday when Taylor’s words came to light, Love’s defense has been somewhat unfairly maligned. The ‘Wolves gave up fewer points when he was on the court, but because he’s not swatting shots like Anthony Davis, a lot of casual fans feel he’s a one-dimensional player and an offensive leech who only tries on one end of the court.
That’s why Taylor’s line of thinking came off so poorly. Here’s a player he had for half a dozen years, netting him a pretty heralded troika of players in Wiggins/Bennett/Young, and all Taylor could focus on was his former star’s shortcomings.
Love, for his part, played down the Taylor comments, and his language was decidedly less antagonist on the Mike and Mike show. The 25-year-old all-star power forward seems comfortable with the change, even if next summer will still see him become a free agent — like he’s planned. Taylor has a pair of former top picks in the draft on their rookie contracts, he’s got Ricky Rubio manning the back-court and a solid four in Young to replace Love.
It’s understandable Taylor might be a little ticked off his franchise player has moved on to another team, especially one in title contention, but at least he didn’t write an all COMIC SANS letter attacking Love personally. Hell, if Taylor had done that, maybe Love will return in four years…
What do you think?
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