It's All About Love...All the Time

[Kurosawa]

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/j ... ef:nbahpt1

Some quick takes on this king-sized prima donna:

--Typical of so many young athletes (and young people in general) today: a deeply entrenched sense of entitlement. Everything worth having should be handed over and not worked for.

--Also, like so many among the Internet generation, he has little or no sense of propriety or discretion in what is made public.

--These are not impulsive comments he's making. They're calculated. Notice how he starts off stating, uncategorically, that he feels unappreciated by the Wolves, and then backpedals with some nonsense designed to soften them and mollify the FO and others who might be put off by them? The guy is shrewd; he knows exactly what he's doing.

--Despite some recent statements to the effect that he's ready to step up and become a team leader, it's all about him.

--I suspect he's still bitter about McHale's firing and misses his childhood idol. Don't know, but I'd bet they're still in touch, and that McHale is poisoning the well, so to speak, just as he is among the media.

--The things that come out of Love's mouth are so mind-boggling that only three explanations are possible: (a) he's stupid (unlikely), (b) he's arrogant or indifferent enough to think he's impervious to consequences from his comments (possibly), or (c) he's trying to force a trade (quite possibly).

Someone at canishoopus posted that the Wolves' roster seemingly is full of solid, team-first character guys except for one "head case" (Beasley) and one "prima donna" (Love). I, and a lot of other rebutting posters, are by no means ready to tag Beasley with the "head case" moniker just yet. But Love?

I think Kevin Love is a true talent capable of taking his game to a very high level. And I think that, fundamentally, he's a good guy. But his public comments continue to damage the team and the organization--a responsibility to avoid that he ought to be aware of and embrace.

[Worm Guts]

I don't know. If there are legitimate problems within the organization, I don't know why Love shouldn't say something. Just because you don't like hearing them, doesn't make them not true.

[breatnach]

I think Love should leave the past behind him. He's now our starting PF and has a chance to prove he is starting material (which I think we all know he is, but it would be nice to see him improve some more). This is basically a new team with 4.5 new starters (only Darko started in the 2nd half of last year), so instead of holding on to the gaps in the foundations of last year, he should head into the new season with a bit more optimism - statements like these, I fear, will lead to a bad beginning.

[Devilzsidewalk]

He just isn't that guy thats always going to be humble and say what people want to hear. He feels he's the team's best player and he wants the team to give him his minutes. Like always, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Love hasn't shown he's a #1 option, but he's a lot better than a 6th man 25-30 mpg role. He's shown enough in his rebounding and overall offensive potential in passing, shooting, and loose balls around the hoop to have a starting and getting his 35 minutes, but he needs to improve his low post offense and defense.

[Worm Guts]

This team won 15 games last year and simultaneously jerked around it's best players. Love was the most direct about it, but you also heard hints of unhappiness from Jefferson and Flynn. Players want to feel like the team is trying to win and we weren't. That's something that needs to change if we want our players to be happy.

[collin_k41]

I'm getting sick of all this whining by Love but it's obvious that something is askew within our organization. We need to be culturing a good atmosphere for players and let them know that they are appreciated but we also expect certain things out of them. We already have enough trouble attracting players to this "Antarctic wasteland" we don't need to be screwing up our player relations even more.

[LegendaryLegend]

Love does sound like he is whining every time he speaks, but I think he has a point. We really need to work on our team chemistry.

[dunkonu21]

We just traded Al Jefferson on his behalf, he needs to shut his yap and just work on getting better.

[Kurosawa]

Those who think Love is merely being honest about some deeper, more fundamental issues within the organization are excusing and enabling his narcissistic behavior.

The culture of narcissism, in which it's all about me, has reached epidemic proportions in our culture, and Kevin is terminally afflicted by it. So the fact that he didn't like coming off the bench to the tune of 30-plus minutes a game is somehow the fault of the FO and coach? Could there be other explanations--such as the fact that he and Jefferson were disastrous defensively when on the court at the same time? Or his willful neglect of his conditioning? Or his team-last attitude? (Am I missing something?)

Blaming the organization and Rambis for Love's behavior and attitude are classic examples of our addiction to victim-hood and blame--the failure to take personal responsibility for anything one does (or fails to do) and for one's responses to the challenges life presents. In Kevin Love's case, these include working hard, getting in better shape, improving on the holes in his game, being a good teammate, and rising to the challenge of becoming a mature, inspirational leader.

[azuresou1]

Hey Mr. Rambis, I didn't know you had a RealGM account.

[C.lupus]

Love is just a hater. He needs to take that to rubechat.

[ChampagnePapa]

I am a big fan of Kevin Love, I am a big LA guy, Dodgers, Bruins, Lakers, etc. But this is just stupid. I understand his frustrations. But the franchise he is angry at just traded his main minutes eater in Al Jefferson to clear room for a Milicic/Love C/PF lineup. We all know Milicic is no scoring god and has limited post moves. So it really makes me wonder...who would likely be the focal point of any and all low post situations? Mr Kevin Love. This is a team that had Al Jefferson playing like a monster and still obtained Kevin Love in his draft.

Pathetic. Just pathetic.

[breaker91]

Love is a great player, but he definitely is a prima dona. A lot of folks in Oregon can't stand him, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that his dad is an arrogant a**. It seems like he is starting to follow in senior's foot steps.

http://wweek.com/story.php?story=5285

[Worm Guts]

Those who think Love is merely being honest about some deeper, more fundamental issues within the organization are excusing and enabling his narcissistic behavior.

The culture of narcissism, in which it's all about me, has reached epidemic proportions in our culture, and Kevin is terminally afflicted by it. So the fact that he didn't like coming off the bench to the tune of 30-plus minutes a game is somehow the fault of the FO and coach? Could there be other explanations--such as the fact that he and Jefferson were disastrous defensively when on the court at the same time? Or his willful neglect of his conditioning? Or his team-last attitude? (Am I missing something?)

Blaming the organization and Rambis for Love's behavior and attitude are classic examples of our addiction to victim-hood and blame--the failure to take personal responsibility for anything one does (or fails to do) and for one's responses to the challenges life presents. In Kevin Love's case, these include working hard, getting in better shape, improving on the holes in his game, being a good teammate, and rising to the challenge of becoming a mature, inspirational leader.

I disagree. Love may be an arrogant tool, but that doesn't mean the stuff he says doesn't have merit. The complaints he's made are completely reasonable. Just because he says something that you don't want to hear doesn't mean it's not true or that he shouldn't say it.
Not all negative comments are complaining or whining, sometimes they're just facts.

[Worm Guts]

We just traded Al Jefferson on his behalf, he needs to shut his yap and just work on getting better.

I'm not sure Kevin Love is the reason we traded Jefferson.

[horaceworthy]

Love is a great player, but he definitely is a prima dona. A lot of folks in Oregon can't stand him, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that his dad is an arrogant a**. It seems like he is starting to follow in senior's foot steps.

http://wweek.com/story.php?story=5285

Well, at least we know where the prima donna behavior comes from.

[Twolves98]

Although I don't agree with Love letting the media know about his feelings he does have a valid point. The Wolves of last year were pathetic throughout the year and to not even give him a chance when he was out playing everyone on the roster was a pathetic move by management. That being said the way Kahn has changed the roster it will hopefully be different this year.

[horaceworthy]

I disagree. Love may be an arrogant tool, but that doesn't mean the stuff he says doesn't have merit. The complaints he's made are completely reasonable. Just because he says something that you don't want to hear doesn't mean it's not true or that he shouldn't say it.
Not all negative comments are complaining or whining, sometimes they're just facts.

Remember when he complained he was having trouble making lay-ups because Rambis demanded precision? I can't really call that reasonable, given he's had trouble making shots around the basket since he came into the league.

Here it's slightly more understandable, but moving Big Al does open up more minutes for him, whether you think that was the main intent behind the trade or not. He really hasn't been that mistreated here, at least not like Al was (forced to play out of position, FO drafting a player at the same position he plays fifth overall, etc.). He's had his minutes jerked around a bit for a year, at least in part due to him noticeably dogging it on the floor a few times (such as the Charlotte game).

It isn't even about not wanting to hear it because it's true, it's about not wanting to hear our best player give more evidence that he's a prima donna. That can't be a good sign.

[Carpe Diem]

What is wrong with an athlete thinking he is the man only to find himself not playing as much as he feels entitled to while playing on a 15 win team? He is then invited to the most prestigious summer opportunity. It is a logical conclusion to see a disconnect here and perhaps Love's frustration came out. This hardly makes him a prima donna or a narsicist.

[Klomp]

What is wrong with an athlete thinking he is the man only to find himself not playing as much as he feels entitled to while playing on a 15 win team? He is then invited to the most prestigious summer opportunity. It is a logical conclusion to see a disconnect here and perhaps Love's frustration came out. This hardly makes him a prima donna or a narsicist.

Agreed. Once again, people are making way too big of a deal out of this.