Kevin Love’s Agent Has Been In Contact With Sixers

As McMenamin writes, James and Love were teammates for several years in Cleveland and have remained close since then, vacationing together earlier this summer. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be an opportunity for Love in Philadelphia this season.

The 76ers are currently just $1.83MM away from their first-apron hard cap with 14 players on standard contracts. Adding a 15th man on a veteran’s minimum contract before the regular season would carry a $2.45MM cap hit, so it won’t be possible until December 4 – when a minimum deal has prorated down to $1.82MM – unless the team makes a roster move to generate additional space below that hard cap.

Waiving Jabari Walker, whose $2.58MM salary is only partially guaranteed for $250K, would be the easiest way to make room for a newcomer. But Walker made a positive impression on the team in a part-time role last season, averaging 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game across 64 appearances. Recent reporting has indicated that the front office would prefer to keep him.

When they needed to make room under the first apron to sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Sixers opted to attach a second-round pick to trade Johni Broome to the Clippers rather than cutting Walker, whose agent Rich Paul also represents James, Tyrese Maxey, and Justin Edwards.

Walker also just turned 24 years old last Thursday and may still have room to improve, whereas Love will turn 38 in September and has seen his production decline in recent years. Last season, the five-time All-Star averaged 6.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG in 16.6 MPG over the course of 37 appearances (five starts) for Utah, posting a shooting line of .397/.373/.841.

According to McMenamin, while Love would have interest in reuniting with James to pursue a title in Philadelphia, he also still has a strong relationship with Jazz head coach Will Hardy and was a valued veteran leader in the club’s locker room last season.

As is the case with the 76ers though, it’s unclear whether the Jazz will have room on their regular season roster for Love. Utah is currently carrying 14 players on fully guaranteed contracts, with big man Mo Bamba on a partially guaranteed deal as the potential 15th man.