Severe decline! How much oil is left for 36-year-old Love?

After two years, Love will become a free agent again.

The thing is probably like this. The Clippers, Jazz and Heat have reached a tripartite deal. The main body of this deal is Collins and Powell. In order to match, Love was sent to the Jazz by the Heat. In the following news, the Jazz will buy out Love.

To say one more thing, as I get older, Love becomes more and more funny, and often jokes on social media. After being traded, he couldn't help but complain on social media: "I never thought I would become a math problem (a bargaining chip that dictates the average salary), welcome to the NBA."

Similarly, it is because I am too old and my condition is worse, so the Jazz chooses to buy it out.

Then the question arises, how much oil does 36-year-old Love have? Which team is he suitable for joining?

Look at the data first. In the past two seasons, Love has been serving as a substitute for the Heat, but to be honest, his performance is not very good:

——2023-24 season, played 55 games, averaged 16.8 minutes per game, scored 8.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists, with three shooting percentages of 44.0%/34.4%/78.7%, and his real shooting percentage is 59.7%

—2024-25 games In the season, he played 23 games, averaged 10.9 minutes per game, scored 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists, with three shooting percentages of 35.7%/35.8%/69.6%, and his real shooting percentage was 48.8%

First of all, in terms of attendance rate, Love is not particularly good, especially last season, because of back injury and personal reasons, Love missed nearly 60 games (of course some were arranged by the team).

Secondly, Love in the 23-24 season was still considered a qualified substitute, with sufficient efficiency and averaged 1.5 three-pointers per game. However, last season, Love's level has declined severely, especially in terms of finishing at the basket. As an inside line, a total of 12 of 33 shots in the 5-foot range at the basket (36.4% shooting), which is a bit too bad.

The biggest selling point and main offensive method of Love now is three-pointers. In the past two seasons, 311 of his 474 shots have come from outside the three-point line, accounting for 65.6%.

But objectively speaking, the shooting percentage is not high, with a two-year shooting percentage of 34.7%, and a large open three-pointer (recently 6+ feet of the defender) made a total of 173 shots, with a shooting percentage of only 37.6%, which cannot be said to be very good.

In terms of defense, Love's rebound protection is very good, but the franchise protection is not outstanding - he has never been outstanding in his entire career. In the few 21 games last season, Love's averaged 5.2 shots per game, and his opponent's shooting percentage increased by 1.2%, of which the 10-foot reserve requirement ratio reduction rate at the basket was only 0.5%, which is definitely unqualified as an inside line.

and, now Love can't play tough battles. The Heat have made it to the playoffs for two consecutive years, but Love only averaged 6 minutes per game in the 2024 playoffs, and was simply completely DNP in the 2025 playoffs and never played in a single game. The latest news is that after being bought out, Love, who is about to be 37, is expected to join the championship team first, but now the initiative is no longer in Love's hands. Does the championship team need a player like Love?

Only in terms of combat power, Love last season obviously could not bring improvement. If it weren't for the veteran who had contributed to the team, I wouldn't have considered it, even if the free market this year is already so friendly to the inside.

So, Love's most likely next home came out - the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Before the Heat, Love played for two teams, one Timberwolves and the other Cavaliers. The Timberwolves have only been six years old, and the team has changed their boss and looks completely different. The Timberwolves already have a substitute inside Reed, so they will not consider Love.

But the Cavaliers are different. The Cavaliers boss once promised to retire the Love jersey in the future. Next season, due to the injuries of Tatum, Halliburton and Lillard (already bought out), the Eastern Conference is inconspicuous, and the healthy Cavaliers really have a chance to rush out of the Eastern Conference again.

Love can serve as a substitute for Mobley and Allen. If the shooting can return to the peak level, it can also open up space for Mitchell. Even if it cannot bring strength improvements to the team, it can still play a role in the locker room (Nans, Xiao also returns to the Cavaliers).

Of course, another possibility is not ruled out - retirement.

It is said to be retired, but to put it bluntly, no one wants it anymore. Many Hall of Famers are like this. The previous year was obviously not bad, but the next year suddenly there is no ball to play, such as Anthony in 2022.

The disappearance of many veterans is silent. Maybe only when the player's name is mentioned will you suddenly remember the reason why he is no longer in the NBA. I hope that in the new season, we can still see Love appear in the NBA arena.