Kevin Love Blasts NBA's 'Really F--king Stupid' Apron Rules, Talks Thunder's Roster

Utah Jazz veteran forward Kevin Love is in his 18th season in the NBA, so he's basically seen it all.

Still, Love revealed during his appearance on The Old Man and The Three that he can't wrap his head around the league's apron rules, and he used the Oklahoma City Thunder as a prime example of the problem.

"I'll tell you, selfishly, what's really f--king stupid, these aprons are f--king with the game," Love said. "That's on our side, they know exactly who they are that did it. … You're telling me Oklahoma City can't keep those three guys together because of these aprons? That's bulls--t. You're telling me Sam Presti, the greatest, all the things that he's done, is handcuffed because of these fcking aprons?"

Love was referring to the Thunder's Big 3 of stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, all of whom were signed to massive contract extensions this past offseason after leading Oklahoma City to the 2025 NBA championship. Any team that surpasses the second apron will face significant restrictions beyond paying extra tax.

The Thunder have built one of the deepest rosters in the NBA by drafting well and adding key veterans. Still, the major money dedicated to Oklahoma City's star trio could hinder the franchise from keeping the band together beyond the 2025-26 season.

"So, for drafting well and building a team in the greatest of ways, you can't keep teams together?" Love continued. "... They have something special there, and the fact that that team can't stay together because of these rules being implemented... These are homegrown guys, they've done the work, they did the due diligence to draft these guys."

Love also criticized the ripple effect that the apron rules can have beyond star players, as teams would have trouble filling out their rosters with veterans like him.

"Selfishly, I'm slightly over the vet minimum now, but coming back and that keeps going up, it's going to affect the cap even more, whereas it didn't do that before. ... It's going to hit their cap worse than it previously had, signing a veteran, and I think veterans matter," he said.