Caleb Love has agreed to a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN's Shams Charania reports. It's the first official roster casualty for the Portland Trail Blazers, but it seemed like an inevitable outcome following the surprising blockbuster trade for Ja Morant.
Portland now has a logjam in the backcourt between Morant, Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Shaedon Sharpe. The fact that they have four starting-caliber point guards led many to wonder whether Holiday would be the next domino to fall. However, Portland has conveyed to teams that they intend to keep Holiday around, believing they can make it work due to his positional versatility.
Seeing as Portland views this logjam as a luxury rather than a problem that needs to be solved, Love was an obvious odd man out.
Blazers guard logjam made Caleb Love the odd man out
He had a surprisingly productive rookie campaign, especially for an undrafted guard. Love finished the season averaging 10.4 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game. He was even a key role player for a portion of the season, helping fill the void of Portland's depleted backcourt that suffered one injury after another.
But in some ways, the Blazers already made their stance on Love clear when they decided not to convert him to a standard contract last season. Portland instead prioritized Sidy Cissoko, a decision that looks even better after seeing how guard-heavy this roster is.
Love was a restricted free agent, and Portland could've brought him back as they still have two roster spots to fill. But as entertaining as he was, they're better off using those final two spots to address their lack of forwards.
Love joins a revamped roster in Philadelphia following their surprising steal of Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown. They've quietly done a good job of adding sneaky depth as well, which has come at Portland's expense.
If Blazers fans like to root for former players who continue their NBA journeys elsewhere, the 76ers certainly have to be considered a League Pass team. They already had Jabari Walker, but have now added Love, Anfernee Simons, and Rayan Rupert into the mix as well. Like Love, Rupert was also a two-way signing, both of which could be steals for Philadelphia.
We wish them all the best, but also want Philadelphia to stop stealing our players!
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