Kevin Love details that he’s “enjoying” himself as a member of the Utah Jazz following his trade from the Miami Heat. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)
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Most assumed Kevin Love would ask for a buyout upon being traded to the Utah Jazz. Instead, he has grown to love being a part of the organization.
The five-time All-Star forward was traded from the Miami Heat to the Jazz in July, with high-scoring guard Norman Powell going to the Heat and John Collins to the Los Angeles Clippers in the three-team deal.
The 37-year-old big man has been accustomed to competing for championships over the past decade, first doing so as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers when he won his first and only ring in 2016. Once he was done with his tenure in Cleveland, Love was acquired by the Miami Heat during the 2022-23 season where he was added with the expectation he’d be the missing piece in delivering them a championship.
He helped lead the eighth-seeded Heat to the 2023 NBA Finals in his first season there and has played in a total of four NBA Finals series.
Fast forward to the present and this Jazz team isn’t expected to be anywhere close to that. In fact, no one is expecting them to make it to the playoffs as one of the top 10 youngest teams in the league.
That’s something that Love has no issue with.
“I am,” Love says in a one-on-one interview of how much he’s enjoying his time with the Jazz. “I’m very grateful. I think in some way, in some cases, you see it around the league – it can become an ungrateful league. Players don’t really know how good they have it, how amazing this league can be and benefits you. You’re living a dream that you’ve had.”
Love obviously dealt with some personal issues towards the end of his tenure with the Heat, which resulted in his role declining with Miami towards the end of his tenure there.
The veteran big man didn’t appear in a single postseason game with the Heat – they were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round – and he was limited to just 10.9 minutes per game in 23 appearances with the Heat during the 2024-25 season.
When factoring in the midseason trade of Jimmy Butler, it became clear that while the Heat were still looking to contend, they were looking to reload and contend in a different manner. In other words, they weren’t the championship contenders they had been over the past few years.
That meant moving Love, an older veteran, made sense on their priority list as they rebuilt their roster heading into the 2025-26 season.
While Love admits that he was emotional when the trade went first down, he says the Jazz have been an “amazing” organization since he arrived. It was assumed that Love would be bought out and latch on to a contender for one last chance at a ring.
However, he’s not looking to do that – he’s looking to remain with the Jazz for the time being. It also doesn’t hurt that due to Walker Kessler’s injury, Love is actually seeing a decent amount of playing time since making his debut on Nov. 2. Love is averaging 13.5 minutes per game.
“When the trade happened, it’s like, ‘Okay, well, what is this going to look like if it doesn’t work out?’ says Love. ”But on the other side of that, you never know until you show up. But the organization has been amazing all the way from ownership all the way down.”
The Jazz are a young team filled with up-and-coming talent such as No. 5 overall pick Ace Bailey and 21-year-old Keyonte George. Utah also features Lauri Markkanen as the lead guy, a former All-Star forward who has averaged 29.3 points per game this season.
Utah is coming off of a 17-65 season last year – the worst in the NBA – but they’ve had some bright spots so far this season, with wins over the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers.
The hope is that the Jazz – and their young pieces – can continue to grow throughout the season, with Love playing the mentor role on an otherwise young team. Kyle Anderson is the next-oldest player at 32 years old.
“You can see it out there, it’s very authentic,” says Love of playing for the Jazz. “I am enjoying myself, whether I’m playing or like the other night, when I was given the night off. I’m making sure that everybody’s having a good time and getting a lot out of their careers as well, and then still imparting wisdom and experience that I’ve had over my 18 years on a very young and hungry team. It’s nice to help them develop habits and develop a level of professionalism every day.”
Kevin Love Details Investment in Oregon-Based Brand Shift Naturals
While Love won’t specify when he’s looking to retire – he says he’s taking it year by year – the 37-year-old knows he’s entering the latter stages of his career. That’s why his health and wellness is of the utmost importance.
Love says that’s a big reason why he’s investing in Shift Naturals, which specializes in low-dose, hemp-infused beverages and gummies that improve modern wellness. A big selling point for the products is that it comes with clean ingredients.
The 2016 NBA champion says his investment in Shift Naturals started less than a year ago.
“I’m an investor in Shift Naturals, which is a wellness brand creating low-end hemp- based drinks,” says Love. “We’ll be getting into my 18th season and still here that my career is built on recovery and consistency. I believe in healthy alternatives that actually taste good, which is a huge benefit, and Shift delivers that. I grew up in Portland, Oregon. It makes a lot of sense for me to invest in this too, because Shift Naturals is right in my backyard in Bend, Oregon.”
Shift Naturals prides itself on “unwinding” by using their products. Their cocktails doesn’t have any alcohol but instead has 12mg CBD and 4 mg of THC.
Love details why the product fits in his everyday life, especially with a young daughter that was born earlier this year.
“It’s huge, and at the very baseline, it just manages my stress, helps me relax,” says Love. “That helps lend itself to recovery, and I need that even more in my 18th season and with my lifestyle with my young family. It’s nice, it’s great tasting options. It’s better for you, zero sugar, zero alcohol, and it makes for a very mild and mellow wind down. It just fits my lifestyle after games, after practices, after I put my daughter down at night. It’s just kind of blended into my everyday life in a great way.”
He says that he’ll be sure to hand out some of the Shift Naturals products to his new Jazz teammates right around the holidays.
“Yeah, it’s coming because holidays are right around the corner,” says Love of handing out some of Shift Naturals’ products to his teammates. “it will definitely be integrated into our locker room. But my favorite flavor is trail berry with the sparkling water. It’s something I will very likely – after I’m done with these interviews – be going upstairs and taking a load off and unwinding from the grind as we like to say.”