Kevin Love next team odds: Heat, Lakers, Suns, Nuggets favorites to land former NBA All-Star after buyout from Cavaliers

It's pretty unusual for an NBA contender to offer a contract buyout to a fairly relevant player at this time of year, but that's what is happening in Cleveland. The Cavaliers and five-time All-Star Kevin Love are finalizing a buyout, allowing him to sign with another contender. SportsLine offers odds on his next team.

Love is in the final year of his contract, paying him $28.9 million. It's not like the Cavs, who are fourth in the East at 38-23, have to do this to get under the luxury tax as they already are – albeit barely. They would simply save whatever money Love takes at a discount on what's left of his salary. The 15-year veteran is averaging 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and remains a solid shooter from downtown at 35.4% -- teams can never have enough floor-spacing bigs -- but hasn't played since Jan. 24.

Players must be waived by March 1 in order to be playoff-eligible with a new team, and there definitely will be a market for Love. It starts with the Miami Heat, who weren't able to make a major addition at the trade deadline but have an open roster spot and badly need 3-point shooting (28th in the NBA at 33.4%). Love would slide in nicely as a backup to Bam Adebayo. Players love being in Miami, and, hey, there's no state income tax.

Can Love realistically win a ring with the Heat? Probably not, as they sit in seventh place in the East but are -1200 at DraftKings to make the playoffs – which means after the play-in tournament. To win the East, Miami is +1600.

Any decent NBA player available via trade or free agency is all but contractually obligated to consider the Lakers, apparently. Los Angeles makes a lot of sense for Love, where he would once again team up with LeBron James. James personally called Love in the summer of 2014 and recruited him to join come to in Cleveland in pursuit of a championship, and Love is the last remaining component of the Cavs' 2016 title team. He played collegiate ball at UCLA.

If a second ring is what Love really wants, the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks make the most sense. The Suns are a bit thin after the Kevin Durant trade and Love would at least be near the West Coast again, while the Bucks also could use frontcourt help. They are an average 3-point shooting team. Denver did very little at the trade deadline because it didn't have first-round picks to deal. In a way, Love is a mini-Nikola Jokic.

The Dallas Mavericks already added Kyrie Irving but need a big man as they are last in the league in rebounding. Love is from the Portland area and previously has suggested he would like to play for his hometown team alongside Damian Lillard, although the Blazers aren't winning anything anytime soon.

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Which team will sign Kevin Love?

• Heat +300
• Lakers +400
• Suns +400
• Nuggets +500
• Bucks +700
• Mavericks +700
• Trail Blazers +1000

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