Two months after being acquired via the three-team deal that sent John Collins to the Clippers, it already appears that Kevin Love's tenure with the Utah Jazz is on the brink of coming to an end.
According to a recent report by Bennett Durando of The Denver Post, the 37-year-old is “widely expected to be traded or bought out" at some point between now and October's tip-off.
Jazz 'expected' to buy out Kevin Love before regular season starts
Frankly, such a rumbling shouldn't come as all that great of a surprise, as the writing has been on the wall for months about Love being destined for a short stint out in Salt Lake City.
Directly after news broke that he was being traded from Miami, the forward voiced his thoughts on the deal on social media by writing on X (formerly Twitter), "Never thought I’d be a math problem," a nod to him being used as mere salary to clear space for the Heat's newcomer in the exchange, Norman Powell.
As a whole, the logic behind the idea of Love and the Jazz parting ways is quite sound.
For Utah, his departure would shed the expiring $4.15 million deal he's attached to for the 2025-26 season from their books, and subsequently would get Utah down to 15 standard contracts on their payroll, the maximum number the league allows a team to have.
As for Love, he'd be bound for the open waters of free agency (assuming he gets bought out) and could choose to sign wherever he desires.
As per Durando's report, the belief is that the veteran has his sights set on eventually joining a contending team's roster. Though he's far from his All-NBA days, such a move could stand to benefit a number of frontcourt-needy teams pursuing the 2026 Larry O'Brien Trophy.
A five-time All-Star and an established NBA Champion, Love has the experience and track record that contenders tend to covet. While his on-court production may have steadily declined over these twilight years of his career, the veteran is still a quality bucket-getter and board gobbler.
Since 2021-22, he has found himself boasting averages of 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 36.3 percent from distance, primarily in a reserve role.
Whether it's a team like the Los Angeles Lakers or perhaps even with Durando's home team the Nuggets (both of whom have been linked to the future Hall of Famer in some capacity), as we inch closer to the season tip-off, it seems to be growing increasingly likely that Kevin Love will be residing outside of Utah for the upcoming campaign.
Based on this latest report, his departure from the Jazz should be expected to come before the start of training camp.