Could Warriors convince Kevin Love to join them on veteran-minimum contract?
The Warriors have been flirting with the idea of adding Kevin Love to their roster for years, and that courting may turn into a full-court press this month. There is growing sentiment around the league that Love will negotiate a buyout with Cleveland and sign a veteran-minimum contract with a contender, with one of the options being the Warriors. As Team USA opened training camp Tuesday in Las Vegas, its easy to imagine a scenario where Draymond Green, one of the leagues best recruiters, was there to subtly hint to Love about a possible future connection with the Warriors that almost came to fruition in 2014. Obviously, with Draymond, its a love-hate relationship, but weve become actually pretty close friends over the past few years, Love said. I love how he competes, his mind for the game, his intangibles, how he leads the break. He passes, he plays defense, and it seems like hes always in the right spot. Hes First-Team All-Defense and has been the Defensive Player of the Year for a reason, so I think we can elevate each others game.  Love, a five-time All-Star with career averages of 18 points and 11 rebounds, was talking specifically about meshing with Green during the national teams nearly two-week stay in Las Vegas and eventual run at the Tokyo Olympics. Getting into details about conceivably playing together on the Warriors could draw a tampering fine, so Love walked the line. But the 6-foot-8, 251-pounder, who has ties to California and Oregon, will always be linked to the Pacific Northwest. After playing his formative years in Lake Oswego, Ore., Love returned to Southern California for college at UCLA. He was the No. 5 overall pick of Minnesota in 2008, tipping off a career of seemingly automatic double-doubles, generational outlet passing and game-changing shooting acumen from a power forward. His skillset fit so perfectly with what the Warriors wanted to do, they chased him as a possible trade acquisition in the summer of 2014. But when consultant Jerry West threatened to quit over including Klay Thompson in the deal, the trade was dead. Instead, Love went to Cleveland to play with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in three straight NBA Finals against the Warriors. James and Irving have moved on now, and Love is the remaining piece of the Cavaliers Big Three. Its taken a toll on his body. Because of a variety of injuries, Love, who will turn 33 before the start of next season, has played only 102 games in the past three seasons. In 2020-21, he averaged 12.2 points and 7.4 rebounds  his worst numbers since his rookie year. He has been publicly frustrated as Cleveland has gone 60-159 (.274 winning percentage) during the past three years and has turned its to focus toward an inspiring young backcourt of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland that will add a potential franchise face with the No. 3 overall choice later this month. That has Love and Cleveland thinking about other options for him. The Cavaliers would love to trade him, but the $60 million owed over the next two years of his contract could make that difficult and demand adding an asset to entice an opponent to take on the money. More likely is reaching a buyout agreement, in which Cleveland can stretch the $60 million over five years and let Love choose where to sign at a veteran-minimum contract. His options would be plenty. Interactive How Curry's 3-point shooting changed the game Stephen Curry has not only led a Warriors resurgence since entering the league, he has changed the game with his long-distance shooting. Brooklyns Kevin Durant has already claimed Love as his Team USA roommate, and Green has a history with these things: actively recruiting Durant in 2016 and getting fined $50,000 for breaking the NBAs anti-tampering rule in August. The 76ers, Clippers, Heat, Pelicans and Trail Blazers would all take a run for a player who rebounds like breathing and can stretch the floor. Even San Antonio might be an option. The Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who is leading Team USA, said: We all know that he didnt have a great year, but hes worked diligently to get his body ready for this. He wanted to do it badly, and we have a need for his skills. We thought he was a perfect person to play against people, like (Rudy) Gobert, to get them out of the lane.  Were going to work his ass off the next 4-5 weeks and demand a lot. Thats going to definitely get him back into the rhythm that he needs to continue to play.  But it might be the Warriors who took the last real look at landing Love. Just in November, it was reported that Golden State eventually balked at a three-team deal that would have landed Love. He said hes willing to pivot, but hes not entirely sure that his days of 35 minutes and 20-25 touches are in the rearview of his career. I can still be the player that I was before I had a couple of tough injuries. This is the best Ive felt in a long time, Love said. I feel like I have a lot to prove, but I feel that way coming into every season. Obviously, its been unlucky and unfortunate. Injuries happen. For me, people should expect better basketball from me.  Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron