Miami Heat Officially Sign Former NBA Champion
After being bought out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, five-time All-Star forward and former NBA champion Kevin Love has officially signed his contract with the Miami Heat, the team announced on Monday.
Love, 34, had not played with the Cavaliers since January 24, leading many to believe that he would be a veteran player who could potentially get bought out of his contract following the NBA trade deadline.
After finishing second in last season's voting for Sixth Man of the Year, Love now joins the Heat, who made it to the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago.
Currently 32-27, the Heat are the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference coming out of the All-Star break, but they sit five full games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are the 4-seed.
Making up ground to potentially host a first-round playoff series will be tough for Miami with limited time remaining in the season, but their main focus is to avoid having to play in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament, a region of the standings in which they currently reside.
Trading away Dewayne Dedmon ahead of the deadline, addressing their frontcourt was quickly made a priority by the Heat in the buyout market, which is why Kevin Love and Serge Ibaka were linked to them.
With Love having interest in going to Miami, this was an easy decision for Pat Riley and the Heat's front-office to make, as the veteran can still contribute in a sixth-man-like role.
According to the team, Love will wear number 42. Jerry Stackhouse was the last player to wear 42 for the Miami Heat in 2011.
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