Max-Contract Questions a Fact of NBA Life for Kevin Love

If David Blatt's doubts about Kevin Love's max-contract worthiness are giving you deja vu, then you're not alone.

When asked about the ongoing struggles of his Cleveland Cavaliers—losers of five in a row and nine of their last 11, including a 104-83 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday—even with two max salary-type players (i.e. Love and Kyrie Irving) on the roster, Blatt responded, per ESPN.com's David McMenamin, "Well, Kev's not a max player yet, is he?"

Blatt later explained, via Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group, that he was merely sticking to protocol as it pertains to discussing contract details publicly:In any case, Love's current salary is, indeed, the max insofar as it's the most he could've earned given the parameters of the particular extension he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign. The deal itself, though (i.e. four years, upward of $60 million), was not the absolute richest for which Love was eligible.

The Wolves, then helmed by general manager David Kahn alongside team owner Glen Taylor, could've inked their All-Star to a five-year pact but had their doubts about affording Love such luxury. Kahn later suggested that Taylor was wary of investing so heavily, in terms of both dollars and years, in Love.The only thing he hasn't done is the one thing against which the wisdom of max contracts is most commonly judged: He hasn't been part of playoff success in the NBA.

Just don't expect that to stop anyone—the Cavs included—from offering Love the max when he opts out of his current contract this summer, as the Akron Beacon Journal's Jason Lloyd says he likely will.

More money won't make Love any more of a "winner" than he already is. Instead, it'll only further raise expectations for Love to become one.

Which, given how low the bar was once set for Love and how he's cleared it time and again, might not be such a bad thing.


Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2327233-max-contract-questions-a-fact-of-nba-life-for-kevin-love