Veteran forward Kevin Love declining option with Heat

Heat forward Kevin Love is turning down his player option for next season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Love becomes an unrestricted free agent by turning down his $4M option.

Even though he’s declining his player option, Wojnarowski reports the two sides are enthusiastic about reaching a new deal in the opening days of free agency. Love has spent the past season and a half with the Heat after being bought out by the Cavaliers before the 2023 trade deadline.

Love has been one of the more underrated buyout pickups of the last few years, immediately settling into a veteran leader role while averaging 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 76 games with the Heat (22 starts). He was also a big part of Miami’s run to the NBA Finals in 2022-23, averaging 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 37.5% from deep (4.4 attempts) in 20 postseason appearances.

Love, 35, is a five-time NBA All-Star and one-time championship winner with the Cavaliers in 2015-16. He’s played 929 games (684 starts) while holding career averages of 16.5 points and 10.1 rebounds. According to basketball-reference.com, Love has a 73.47% chance to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

According to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, one option could be for Love to re-sign with the Heat at a minimum of about $3.3M with an additional year attached. That would give the Heat extra wiggle room under the second apron to keep some free agents.