Kevin Love secures the bag and the Cavs keep their star with a $120 million extension

Kevin Love won’t be traded to the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, or any other team that could use a stretch four to put them over the hump. Instead, he signed a four-year contract extension in Cleveland worth $120 million, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He’s not going anywhere, at least not for now.

Love had been the third wheel in the Cavaliers’ Big 3, including LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, and his numbers took a hit for it. Three of the four lowest-scoring seasons since his rookie year have come in Cleveland.

But with Irving forcing a trade to Boston, and James subsequently leaving for Los Angeles, Love immediately becomes the No. 1 scoring option and lone All-Star this Cleveland team — and he’ll be paid well for it.

No team truly wants to tank, especially not a franchise that’s made to four straight NBA Finals appearances. For Cleveland to tank for a better pick, it would have had to trade Love for future draft assets. But doing so would have turned the Cavaliers to one of the least competitive teams in the league for years.

The Cavaliers lock in an All-Star forward who will help them compete for playoff position. That’s the ideal environment to develop young talent. This is how Cleveland stays relevant for the present while building for the future, and Love is a familiar face hometown fans can pull for.

Brook Lopez just signed one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks for $3.3 million. The league has moved away from most traditional scoring big men, and they don’t get paid as much as a result.

Love did the one thing he was supposed to: get the money. He secured a long-term bag that’ll pay him 20s of millions of dollars every year until he’s 34 years old. He’ll also be the focal point of an offense for the first time since his heyday in Minnesota.

After all, Love averaged 26 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists in his final season with the Timberwolves. He averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season, and in the playoffs, he averaged 14.9 points on 39 percent shooting.

Is this the same Kevin Love of old? He’s the captain now. Now, we’ll really find out.