Love in 'best place' physically, mentally since trade to Cavs

Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have captured that elusive NBA championship after a 52-year title drought in the city, the pressure on forward Kevin Love to perform as the quintessential third piece behind LeBron James and Kyrie Irving has diminished significantly.

No longer relied upon to be a jack-of-all-trades tasked with carrying a team like he was in Minnesota, Love has forged his identity in his new role, and is prepared to take what he learned about his team and himself from 2015-16 and carry that over into the upcoming season.

The Cavaliers believe the three-time All-Star is in "the best place," both physically and mentally since being sent away by the Timberwolves in a trade during the summer of 2014.

"Kevin learned about what it takes to win. He really matured last season," a source close to the franchise told Cleveland.com's Terry Pluto.

The 27-year-old has spent much of his offseason at the U.S. Olympic ski training facility in Park City, Utah for the second year in a row. He's maintained his peak physical conditioning after dropping 15 pounds, which has made the higher ups in the organization very happy.

Love is going to be around for the long haul if management can help it. He's already locked in through the 2018-19 campaign, with a player option for 2019-20. Despite his name being banded about in trade rumors, the Cavaliers continue to assure that they have no interest in moving him.

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Even had Love been on thin ice, winning a title would have undoubtedly bought him a season or two to redeem himself. His well ran dry on offense during the series against the Golden State Warriors, so instead, Love prioritized rebounding the basketball and making more of an effort on the defensive end. He even made a lockdown defensive player on back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry during the final minute of Game 7.

He averaged a double-double of 17.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in the first three rounds of what was his first real taste of the playoffs.