The Miami Heat recently completed a three-team trade sending LeBron James’ 36-year-old former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate and NBA Finals hero to the Utah Jazz.
However, a recent report suggests the 36-year-old forward may not log a single minute with the lowly Jazz during the 2025-26 season.
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“Kevin Love is certainly a buyout candidate in Utah,” The Stein Line’s Jake Fisher wrote on X/Twitter Monday.
Could the Los Angeles Lakers help James reunite with Love this summer? There’s a slim chance the storied organization pulls it off, but it’s far from impossible.
James and Love were teammates in Cleveland for four seasons.
In 2014, James, who spent the first seven years with the Cavaliers, signed a two-year deal in free agency, while Cleveland acquired Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a three-team trade.
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Due to an injury-riddled 2015 postseason, the Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
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The following postseason, however, a healthy Cavaliers squad overcame a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit and got their revenge on the Dubs in cinematic fashion.
Kyrie Irving drilled a massive go-ahead three late, and James secured a game-changing chase-down block late in Game 7, but Love made arguably the biggest play of the game.
Love was tasked with containing superstar playmaker Stephen Curry with the Cavaliers possessing a three-point lead with under 50 seconds remaining, and the UCLA product delivered.
The former first-round pick’s lateral footwork was impeccable, as Curry was forced to hoist up a prayer that failed to find the bottom of the net.
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Cleveland went on to secure a 93-89 victory and their first title in franchise history.
Nowadays, Love is a shell of his former self in the big leagues. Still, if the Lakers view him as a respectable reserve who can offer satisfactory three-point shooting production, the organization could scoop him up in the buyout market.
Love averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game with the Heat this past season, shooting 35.7% from the field and 35.8% from deep.
Time will tell if the Jazz make the five-time All-Star available this summer.
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