When the Utah Jazz acquired Kevin Love in their return package for John Collins, everyone immediately assumed it wouldn't be long before Love found his way off the roster. While it's already been confirmed that Love has his sights set on elsewhere, the latest intel on him should make Utah hope their situation with him resolves quickly.
NBA Insider Marc Stein reported that Love is already trying to get himself off the Jazz, almost a month after the team traded for him.
"Five-time NBA All-Star Kevin Love is actively exploring potential pathways out of Utah after he was dealt by Miami to the Jazz as part of the three-team Norman Powell trade," Stein wrote.
This news doesn't exactly come out of left field, as it didn't sound like Love was exactly too keen on joining the Jazz when the trade was first announced.
Never thought I’d be a math problem. Welcome to the NBA.
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) July 7, 2025
Plus, it's not like the Jazz have much use for him. He's entering the dog days of his career, who's technically on a team that not only is rebuilding but has a crowded enough frontcourt that even if he wanted to be on the Jazz, he probably wouldn't get that many, if any, minutes regardless.
One way or the other, it sounds like Love will never be a Jazzman. That's honestly what's best for both sides.
It will all depend on if anyone wants Love
Love is not the same player who regularly averaged double-doubles in Minnesota, nor is he the stretch big who helped Cleveland's title quests (warts and all). Still, he is a seasoned veteran who, at this stage of his career, is probably at best a regular season frontcourt rotation player.
He may not be counted on as much in the playoffs, if at all, but that kind of player can help teams who want to rest their players for the postseason. Players like that can actually pay huge dividends when the playoffs roll around, with their best players more rested.
There's a lot of appeal in that. Love can still shoot threes and gobble up rebounds. His most recent numbers aren't too great, which is why the likely outcome here is that it ends with a buyout instead of a trade, but they are good enough that a team will take a flyer on the aging former star.
Fischer brought up that Love wants "glamour markets," which means he wants Los Angeles or New York. The question will be whether or not the feeling is mutual. There would be some situational irony if he wound up with the Clippers, as Love was used in their trade to get Collins from the Jazz in the first place.
If that's how this ends up, fans would start calling the Clippers the "Los Angeles Jazz" the same way they've called the Timberwolves the "Minnesota Jazz" for all the times they've helped both teams over the last few years.
Even if Love doesn't have a new team lined up, it's not like swallowing his contract is the worst fate in the world for the Jazz. They've done it with worse contracts, so doing the same with Love wouldn't be a big deal.