Cavaliers news: The 2019-20 season has officially started for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and despite their 94-85 loss to the Orlando Magic on opening night, there were still some positives takeaways from the game.

One of which is Kevin Love, who finished with 11 points and a whopping 18 rebounds. Over the past year, there has been talk about the potential of the 31-year-old being traded as the Cavs continue to rebuild. Love is aware of these rumors, but he made it clear that he wants to stay in Cleveland.

“I do want to be here. I always have. I say that knowing it’s the NBA and it’s a business. I think especially after seeing last year, the summer leading up to last year and this summer, the changeover is like unprecedented so you don’t know what is going to happen.”

Last season, Love signed a four-year, $120 million extension. Unfortunately, he only played in 22 games because of injuries. The former All-Star said that he’s fine if the front office will decide to trade him, but so far, there has been no discussions between his camp and team officials about his future.

“My time in Cleveland could eventually come,” Love said. “I know it’s been the talk every single year, but I’ve gotten — I’m not going to say comfortable because comfortable is the wrong word — but I feel comfortable here. I love where I live, I’ve embraced you guys, I’ve embraced the city and the fans, but at the end of the day, given a long-enough timeline, who you work for or somebody you work for will eventually change up and turn.

“If they decide to go completely young … and that could be the case, but it’s funny, my agent didn’t call me one time this summer to say, ‘Hey, you’re getting traded, there’s talks that this is happening.’ Of course, somehow it’s still out there and people are talking about, ‘Oh, Kevin would be great here or great there.’ I just keep it moving and try to do right by these guys because we have a good group.”

Love has embraced the role of being the veteran leader for the Cavaliers, who several young prospects on the team. He plans to continue taking them under his wing moving forward, and he will continue to do everything that he can for the franchise he once helped win a championship.

“I know whether it’s the next four, six or seven years here or whether it’s the next four months, I’m just going to be me and continue to give it all I can. I really do think, especially with (John Beilein), I can get a lot better.”

At this point, the Cavaliers can still get some significant assets if they ship Love somewhere else. He’s still capable of providing decent numbers, just like what he showed against the Magic. There will also be several teams who will be interested in acquiring him, so Cleveland has to make a decision soon.

Is Love a part of their long-term future or not?

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Lakers news: After trading for All-Star forward Anthony Davis back in June, the Los Angeles Lakers shifted their focus in going after Kawhi Leonard in free agency.

 They were attempting to build the NBA’s next superteam, and AD himself thought that the Purple and Gold had a really good shot at landing the reigning Finals MVP.

“I don’t really know Kawhi like that — I don’t think no one really knows Kawhi like that. But obviously we were hopeful. I definitely thought that it was a possibility that we could get him… I’m not going to be a haggling guy. Especially when he came and said he didn’t really like the media [attention] and people pressuring him.

But I think there was a time where all of us felt like we were really, really close to getting Kawhi.”

Davis added that he and his teammates were already thinking of the possibilities had the Lakers signed Leonard.

“I think it [has] always been about the Big Three, We were talking like, ‘Man, we get Kawhi, man, this is what we can do. We can do it like this, this, this, this.'”

During the first week of free agency, a lot of people, including credible members of the media, believed that the Lakers were the frontrunners to sign Leonard. But everyone was stunned when he decided to join the Los Angeles Clippers, the team that was also able to trade another All-Star in Paul George.

With Kawhi and PG joining the Clippers, there has been a lot of talk about the potential LA rivalry, as they share Staples Center with the Lakers, the more prominent and beloved team in the city. Many people believe that the Clips are the favorites to win the NBA championship this season, but the Lakers aren’t going to be pushovers compared to the past six years.

The Lakers will be parading a roster led by four-time MVP LeBron James, as well as Davis, who’s starting to become one of the best basketball players in the world. At 26 years old, he’s one of the most skilled big men in the league, and with a roster filled with veterans with high basketball IQ, the Purple and Gold will be ready to go toe-to-toe with the NBA’s best.

And Davis is confident that they can succeed, even without Kawhi.

“‘We [still] got LeBron and Anthony Davis. Let’s do it.'”

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Rockets news: A lot of people are pessimistic about the partnership of Jamaes Harden and Russell Westbrook in Houston, with most of them saying that they wouldn’t be able to co-exist because they are both ball-dominant players. However, Brodie has made it clear that he’s willing to adjust for the benefit of the team.

Westbrook was traded to the Rockets a couple of months ago after the Oklahoma City Thunder decided that it’s finally time to hit the reset button. The former NBA MVP averaged a triple-double for the past three seasons, and that streak could be broken that that he’s about to play with Harden.

But Westbrook says he’s perfectly fine with that, as he believes that he can still help the Rockets win games even without the ball in his hands.

“I don’t have to have the ball to impact the game. I don’t have to score, I don’t have to do anything. I can defend, I can rebound, I can pass, I can lead. Our main goal, main focus, is to win. I can go be scoreless, and if we win, that’s the best thing that ever happened. That’s all I cared about, and that’s all I ever cared about.”

Westbrook added that he no longer needs to prove himself to anyone anymore, and that his main focus is helping Harden and the Rockets win a championship.

“When it comes to me and James playing together, who’s going to have the ball, who’s not going to have the ball, it really doesn’t matter. I don’t have to prove I can score 30 points. I’ve done that before. I don’t have to prove to average 10 assists. I’ve done that before. I don’t have to prove to get 10, 11 rebounds. I’ve done that before. My goal is to win a championship, so whatever it takes to do that, that’s what I’m going to do.”

With Westbrook on board, the Rockets have two of the league’s most explosive guards who can both pad the stats sheet and get their teammates involved. Brodie already played with Harden back when they were in OKC, so he probably knows how to share the ball with him.

But will Westbrook be okay with the fact that Harden is the alpha male on the team? We’ll just have to wait and see to find out.

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Sixers news: Former NBA All-Star Elton Brand has done a pretty good job as the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. This summer, he was able to build a solid roster that’s expected to be one of the best in the league.

 So he has the right to be confident about the team’s chances of winning the championship this season.

“I think what we’ve done is put in place the championship DNA, in order to be a contending team for years to come.”

The Sixers already have Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons as the franchise’s primary cornerstones, but Brand needed to surround them with players who can compete at a high level, and that’s what he was able to accomplish in the offseason. Although Philadelphia lost Jimmy Butler in a trade with the Miami Heat, they were able to acquire promising young star Josh Richardson. The team also added veteran forward Al Horford and re-signed sharpshooting big man Tobias Harris to a five-year deal.

Overall, Brand is proud of what he’s able to accomplish and that he’s excited to see how good the team will be this season.

Last season, the Sixers finished with a 51-31 record, good for third place in the Eastern Conference standings. They made quick work of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost to the eventual NBA champions Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals behind a series-clinching buzzer beater from Kawhi Leonard.

Embiid’s injuries and Harris’ struggles on the offensive end doomed the Sixers against the Raptors, but they’ve already moved on from what happened and are ready to begin the next chapter of their story.

On paper, Philly is one of the best defensive teams in the league. Their starting line-up of Embiid, Horford, Harris, Richardson, and Simmons are also projected to be one of the tallest in the NBA. If they will be able to find their rhythm early in the season, they will be a huge problem for a lot of the opposing teams.

But once again, health will play a major role in determining whether or not the Sixers will succeed this season, which is why Brand is also planning to be more involved in making medical decisions about the team’s players.

If the Sixers will remain at full strength for the majority of the season and if Simmons, Harris, and Richardson can take their game to another level, it’s hard to imagine anyone from the East beating them in a seven-game series.

Brand believes that every member of the Sixers’ roster is determined to win the title. All he wants to see now is how good they will be on the floor, and at this point, they seem to be very promising.

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