Cavs Kevin Love Could Miss A Month: Reports

CLEVELAND — Star Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love may miss a month of action, according to reports. The five-time All-Star has an injured left foot and has already missed two games.

Love injured one of the toes on his left foot. With the team currently 0-6, the worst record in the NBA, there's little incentive to rush the forward back onto the court, ESPN reported. Less than a month into the season and Cleveland's year may already be spent.

The injury is actually a lingering one. The forward was hurt in the preseason and has played through the pain. There's less need to do that now, with Cleveland likely considering punting on the entire season.

Love has been the Cavaliers best player — averaging about 19 points a game, to along with 13.5 rebounds. His shooting percentages are...bad, but he has been adjusting to being the sole focal point of the offense. His performance for Cleveland is happening almost in a vacuum, with the team squandering game after game.

Head coach Tyronn Lue was fired over the weekend. After taking the Cavaliers to three straight NBA Finals, including winning the franchise's lone championship in 2016, Lue was terminated on Sunday. He had reportedly been sparring with the front office over playing time for veterans versus young players. His team was off to one of the worst starts ever for a franchise that was in the NBA Finals the year previous.

If the Cavaliers are considering tanking the rest of the year, to try and grab the best draft pick possible, then Love's injury should serve as further incentive to bomb. The 2019 NBA draft class appears loaded, with three different Duke players projected to land in the top five picks, including the much-hyped Zion Williamson. It may be in the team's best long-term interests to let the losses pile up, while seeing which (if any) young players develop into core pieces.

Cleveland may also want Love to heal up so that he can be dangled in trade talks. A healthy Kevin Love could be attractive to a franchise that wants to try and compete with the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers could use the potential of young assets in return. So, let Love get healthy.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images