Cavaliers' Kevin Love Says He Loves His Teammates After Reported Outburst

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love posted on Instagram (h/t Marc Stein of the New York Times) that he loves his teammates following an on-court moment Saturday where he appeared visibly frustrated with guard Collin Sexton.

"A lot of non truths being shared...but I’ve learned that we live in a world where people remember accusations and not rebuttals," Love wrote.

"Let them paint whatever picture they want. Fact is—I love my teammates."

The play in question occurred near the end of the second quarter of a 121-106 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in which Love whipped a pass to Cedi Osman after Sexton spent much of the shot clock dribbling the ball near the half-court line:

The moment came after Joe Vardon and Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Love had an "emotional verbal outburst" against Cavs general manager Koby Altman on Saturday.

"Kevin Love had an emotional verbal outburst directed toward general manager Koby Altman following shootaround on Saturday, expressing his displeasure and disgust with the organization, league sources told The Athletic.

"Love was screaming in front of teammates and Cavs coaches and front-office members that there was 'no feel here,' league sources said."

Vardon and Charania also said that Love would prefer to be traded to a contender but has not made those intentions public.   

This isn't the first time Love has been visibly frustrated during a game recently; he was clearly upset during the team's 117-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on New Year's Eve as well.

Vardon and Charania provided context.

"He was spotted by cameras slapping chairs on the Cavaliers bench away from the team huddle in the third quarter of the blowout. ... He asked a Cavs coach to take him out of the game so he could cool down. During the next timeout, when a coach asked what was wrong, Love said he didn't like how selfish the first unit was playing, sources said."

The Cavs fined Love $1,000 for the outburst.

With Saturday's loss, Love and the Cavaliers dropped to 10-25 in what appears to be the team's second straight season well out of the playoffs following LeBron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.

Trading Love almost seems inevitable at this point given rumors that he wants out coupled with the team's state, and Stein reported on Jan. 1 that there is "fresh optimism" that "Cleveland may just find a workable Kevin Love deal before the buzzer."

The NBA's 2020 trade deadline is Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. ET.