When the Utah Jazz signed Mo Bamba, it put their roster at 15 players. Before LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, it was making the rounds that Love planned to be his "plus-one" wherever James went. Yet, here we are, with Love remaining unsigned and no intel linking him to Philly.
So one question remains: is a Jazz reunion off the table? Before those James rumors sprouted, it sounded like Utah was down for a reunion with Love, and the feeling was mutual? A lot changes in a few months, and the Jazz have shored up their frontcourt depth, but if they want Love's veteran presence, why not?
We've talked enough about why Love and Utah mutually embraced one another last season once he joined the team. We don't have to rehash it. It's just interesting that despite seemingly being so tight with James, Love has not yet been his plus-one.
It's possible the 76ers are still working through some things, but the more time passes, the more it feels like Love's market is nonexistent, which could open the door for him to come back to Utah not only for Round 2 but to also play for a much better team.
The 76ers just jumped through hoops to add LeBron's ex-teammate
Shortly after confirmation that James was joining the 76ers, it was confirmed that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would too. The two of them helped the Los Angeles Lakers win a title together in 2020.
However, Philadelphia had to trim some of the fat to make that work. They pulled it off by trading Johni Broome to the Los Angeles Clippers. They had to swerve through these cap restrictions because they are hard-capped at the first tax apron, so they are prohibited from exceeding it.
So if they were to after Love, someone whose presence on a team is more about what he does for the locker room than what he does on the court, they'd have to go through similar hoops to make that happen again with Love.
For that reason, it's hard to see what Love's other options are at this point. There hasn't been any intel about Utah bringing Love back, but who knows? Maybe it would have been easier if they had kept Kessler, as losing him means the Jazz are using a center-by-committee approach.
It's not like bringing Love back is the Jazz's necessity, but it would be nice to have him back. If he wants to stay in the show, it would be nice for him to still have a spot in Utah, but it will likely be up to both sides.
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