Kevin Love is coming back to Cleveland. No drama, no intrigue, just the player the Cavs traded multiple No. 1 picks for re-signing with a Cavaliers team that is absolutely loaded. The deal is for a reported five-years, $110 million. Love announced the deal on The Players Tribune Wednesday. 

I'm going back to Cleveland.
After Game 1 of the NBA Finals, that’s when it really struck me. Sitting on the sidelines, I never wanted to play in a game more than that one. I had dreamed of playing in the NBA Finals and I just wanted to help my guys win. I couldn’t have been prouder of them as they poured their blood, sweat and tears onto the court.
Yeah, of course I’ve heard the free agency rumors. But at the end of the day, and after meeting with my teammates (it turns out pools are great meeting places) and with the front office, it was clear Cleveland was the place for me. We’re all on the same page and we’re all in. We have unfinished business and now it’s time to get back to work.

Source: Unfinished Business | The Players' Tribune

Love met with LeBron James at a pool Sunday; the meeting was caught on social media. It's clear now that James convinced Love to come back despite being mostly misused by David Blatt last season after repeated questions about Love's fit. But seeing that championship contention in front of him, and how close his team was to a title had to have convinced Love that this opportunity was too good to pass up. 

The Cavs are loaded now and facing somewhat of a logjam. They are also close to terms to re-sign Tristan Thompson Wednesday to a reported $80 million deal, and they still have Anderson Varejao and Timofey Mozgov, who was instrumental in their Finals run. That much talent is a good problem to have, though, and it'll be on David Blatt to figure out how to manage minutes and roles, and to use Love more effectively than he did for most of last season where he was primarily a decoy. 

Love had been rumored to meet with the Lakers this week, but whatever James said to him must have trumped it. The decision follows a rocky year that saw Love reassert time and time again that he was committed to returning to the Cavaliers, and yet week by week be involved in rumors that he was still open to leaving for the Lakers, for Boston, for Portland. Instead it turns out he was being honest when he said in early June he wanted to be back in Cleveland

Love missed the majority of the Cavs' Finals run due to a shoulder injury suffered at the hands of Kelly Olynyk. Ironically, it was that injury that opened the door for Thompson and Mozgov to reshape the Cavaliers into a defensive force that paved the way for the Cavs to win the East. The Cavaliers are more talented with Love on the floor, but their identity as a tough, gritty, defensive team was much more successful in a playoff environment. Still, this gives Cleveland a world of weapons and an incredibly deep team if they can stay healthy. 

Cleveland pushed the Warriors to six games in the Finals without Love and Irving. Now they'll get both back, have another year to gel and look to be the dominant favorites to win not only the Eastern Conference, but the NBA title next season. 

Kevin Love will remain with the Cavaliers, he announced Wednesday.  (USATSI)
Kevin Love will remain with the Cavaliers, he announced Wednesday. (USATSI)