CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavaliers are Kevin Love's team now.

In the run-up to the Cavs' 2018-19 training camp that starts with media day on Sept. 24, cleveland.com is taking a look at each roster player and what might be expected of him this season if this team is to survive LeBron James' departure and make a legitimate run at a playoff spot.

For Love, who turned 30 on Friday and signed a four-year, $120 million extension in the offseason, he is now the face of a franchise that has been to four straight Finals and lost LeBron to the Lakers via free agency.

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NBA

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Season rewind

Love averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds in 59 games last season, spent mostly at center. He was named an All-Star for the fifth time in 10 seasons, but missed the game (and, obviously, a ton of others) because of a broken bone in his left hand.

He averaged 14.9 points and 10.2 boards in the playoffs, but really struggled to shoot (.392 from the field; .340 3-point range).

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cleveland.com

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Great expectations

Meet Minnesota Kevin.

Love was the T'Wolves primary scorer over six seasons, averaging 19.2 points (and 12.2 rebounds) on 14.1 shots per game.

Only once in his four year with the Cavs has he gotten there so far. Coming the 2016 championship, he scored 19.0 points and grabbed 11.1 boards with 14.5 shots per game in the '16-17 campaign.

With James gone, Love has got to become an older, wiser, better version of Minnesota Kevin. He'll get more shots, and presumably more will come from closer to the basket than where he's been shooting as a Cav (5.7 attempted 3s per game here, way higher than his average with the Wolves), but he also still needs to be a floor spacer for Collin Sexton, Rodney Hood, and Cedi Osman.

Oh, and Love has to stay healthy. He's missed substantial time in each of the last two years (costing him All-Star appearances both seasons), and there is no LeBron to keep the Cavs afloat if he gets hurt again.

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Contract status

With Love's lucrative extension, he's under contract for five more seasons and $144.1 million.

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Joshua Gunter

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How Cleveland got him

The Cavs traded 2014 No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins and 2013 No. 1 pick Andrew Bennett to the Timberwolves in August, 2014 as part of a three-team deal with the 76ers.

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Kevin Love's Instagram

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Big summer news

Yes, the contract.

With James' departure, all eyes turned toward Love, who was entering the final year of his deal with Cleveland. The league widely expected the Cavs to tear down their team for a dramatic rebuild, which would mean they had to trade Love.

Instead, Cleveland rejected the rebuild and signed Love long term, which means they can either build around him, or, be patient in trading him to a team that makes the best offer.

Without this deal, the Cavs would've been forced to move him, and teams would've been able to offer less to get him.

Love also made the rounds promoting awareness and treatment of mental health issues.

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