“I’m a Heat Lifer”: Kevin Love Dismisses Cavaliers Reunion As He ‘Mourns’ Jimmy Butler’s Trade Request

The Jimmy Butler trade reports have taken the NBA world by storm. Fortunately for the Miami Heat fans, the face of the franchise pushing for a trade hasn’t had any effect on some of the other veteran players on the team, like Kevin Love, who pledged his loyalty to the team amid all the noise.

Love has been very active on social media recently, making posts about Butler and his other Miami teammates. On one of his posts, which was an edited poster for Boyz II Men, Love received a request from a fan in the comments.

The fan wrote, “You and Jimmy should come to the Cavs.”

Love has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers for nearly a decade and has been very successful as well in his stint. He was a part of the Cavs’ 2016 championship-winning side. However, the 36-year-old declared that he has no interest in going back to Cleveland because of his loyalty to his current franchise.

“Love my Cleveland people but I’m a Heat lifer now,” he responded to the fan.

The five-time All-Star joined the Heat in February of 2023 and made his first NBA Finals appearance for the franchise the same year. Although he has been in and out of the rotation, Love has made a lot of connections in Miami.

So far, he has played 92 games for the Heat, averaging 8.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. In the current season, his numbers have gone down along with the minutes he’s getting to spend on the floor per game. Love is averaging 5.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while playing over 11 minutes each game.

Kevin Love has been on an IG dump spree

Love boasts a massive following of over 3.3 million on Instagram. In most cases, such popular accounts are carefully curated by either the athlete or their team. However, Love seems to have some things he wants to get off his chest and Instagram has become his favorite outlet for the same.

Apart from his Boyz II Men edit, he also posted a video with the caption, “Last 3 hours – ‘Emo State.’” This was in reference to the ‘Emo Jimmy’ alter ego that Butler introduced on Miami’s Media Day a couple of years ago. Love is clearly dejected by the rumors about Butler and he knows that the veteran forward will eventually end up leaving Miami.

During his last media interaction, Butler stated that he has lost the joy of playing basketball in South Beach, which is making it hard for him to perform. When asked if he would find that fun in Miami, he said, “Probably not.” So, there are enough signs for Love to be worried about losing a great teammate.