Kevin Love could become an unrestricted free agent after the 2014-15 NBA season, but the All-Star power forward reiterated that he is not planning to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Love, who is slowly getting adjusted to his new team after struggling to get into his rhythm in the first few weeks of this season, said in an interview with Chris Mannix that he is committed to the Cavaliers.
"I'm a Cavalier and I plan on being a Cavalier for a long time," said Love, who is averaging 17.9 points to go along with 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists this season.
In a separate interview, Love said that he is aware of the ongoing talks about his future in Cleveland, but he pointed out that he is already getting used to it, saying that people will continue to speculate.
The 26-year-old forward said that he wants to end all talks about his impending free agency, but he knows that it won't stop until he signs a new deal with the Cavaliers.
"If I could end all the speculation now, I would," Love said in an ESPN Radio interview. "But people are going to continue to talk no matter what. I just want to continue getting better with this team long term."
The Cavaliers gave up promising prospects Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett along with 2015 first-round to acquire Love in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It was a big gamble for the Cavaliers, knowing that Love could leave via free agency in the offseason, but the former UCLA standout wants to repay Cleveland's trust in him by staying committed to the organization.
"Since I was traded to Cleveland this summer, I've said since Day 1 that I'm a Cleveland Cavalier long term and I plan for it to be that way," Love said. "I want to grow with this team. There's a lot of guys with a lot of unique talent, one-through-fifteen, on our roster who are going to be here for a long time."
Previous rumors suggested that Love sill strongly consider signing with the Los Angeles Lakers - his hometown team - next offseason, but the seventh-year guard, who has yet to experience NBA playoff basketball, denied all talks about him joining Kobe Bryant next season.
