Kevin Love Finally Forgives Kelly Olynyk

After Kelly Olynyk ended Kevin Love‘s season when he dislocated his shoulder fighting for a rebound, Love did not want to have any part of Olynyk, or the Boston Celtics for that matter.

Love’s immediate reaction was to proclaim “I have no doubt in my mind that he did it on purpose”. With Love’s impending free agency this was not the kind of thing Celtics fans wanted to hear. The Celtics will be offering someone a max contract this off season and Love should be one of their top targets.

Apr 26, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) injures his shoulder during the first half in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics. at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

It’s hard to imagine Love opting to join a team with a player he though intentionally hurt him and thats why his most recent comments are a great sign for the Celtics. Love is not showering praise for Olynyk and no one expected that. However, hearing him say “Oh yeah, I’m over it” means the Celtics may once again be a potential landing spot for Love.

Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing in the NBA finals you might expect Love to become more bitter. Love never got to play in the playoffs with the Minnesota Timberwolves and he may never get a better chance at a championship than this season. Love would still get his ring if they win but that would be no where near as meaningful as suiting up against the league’s best in the Golden State Warriors and earning the hardware.

Love may have come to his senses because he no longer believes Olynyk intentionally hurt him or maybe he realizes what a great landing spot the Celtics would be for him. Love would once again be the go to guy and he fits so perfectly into Stevens’ system he may even be able to be more productive than he was with the Timberwolves where he averaged 26 points 12 rebounds and 4 assists, numbers no one was able to put up this season.

Love does not bring the defense the Celtics need but there is no better offensive free agent available to the Celtics. Love knows he is a great fit with the Celtics and he knows the kind of money they can offer him. To throw all that away over a questionable isolated incident with one player would be foolish and thankfully he finally realized that.

Love and Olynyk may never be close but they are both professionals and seeing Love reach out in any capacity suggests they will be capable of at least playing alongside each other.

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