The Utah Jazz's decision to keep Kevin Love certainly raised some eyebrows. He seemed like the last player the team needed and only made the Jazz's frontcourt even more crowded. However, besides the fact that waiving him would have meant swallowing his contract whole, keeping Love is also because of his influence on Lauri Markkanen and Kyle Filipowski.
During Jazz Media Day, both Markkanen and Filipowski singled out Love. In Markkanen's case, he referenced when the two of them were teammates in Cleveland.
"It was my fifth year in the league when I was there, so I already knew I have still much to learn... Just kind of picked his brain, so we created that relationship early on, and I'm excited to have him back. I get to hang out with him more," Markkanen said."
Love is not the player he once was at his peak. In fact, he was far from it even when the Cavaliers first acquired Markkanen in 2021. However, at his peak, he was one of the league's best players and most feared stretch bigs. They may have only spent one season as teammates, but Markkanen got to learn from a former star and champion. The next year, he became an All-Star for a lot of the same reasons Love was once upon a time.
Coincidence? We think not.
Filipowski was compared to Love growing up
During Jazz Media Day, Filipowski revealed that many compared him to Love when he was a kid. He also revealed how he feels about becoming teammates because of that.
"I remember in fourth grade, I was getting nicknamed K-Love, just because I was more of the spot-up shooter sort of thing," Filipowski told reporters. "It's really surreal to have the opportunity now to learn from him and work with him every day. I'm looking forward to learning whatever I can from him."
Filipowski is already an exciting prospect for the Jazz, but getting to work next to an All-Star big could help him hone his craft even more as he continues his NBA ascension.
Both Markkanen and Filipowski are as good as they are because they are unique big men known best for being able to space the floor to go with their scoring prowess, and now they got perhaps the one player who made that one of his biggest staples on his way to becoming an elite big man in the 2010s.
Markkanen is already a star when he's at his peak while FIlipowski is one of the more promising players in their youth movement. Now they have one of the NBA's current OGs by their side who did a lot of what they do on the court when he was in his heyday.
It might not count for too much, and Love might not finish the season with Utah, but there is at least a point to keeping him on the roster.