The Caleb Love Era has officially come to an end in Rip City. The 6-foot-3 guard has agreed to sign a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Blazers had signed Love to a two-way deal in the direct aftermath of last summer’s NBA draft, and he played a much bigger role on the roster than expected in his rookie season. After numerous injuries to Portland’s other guard thrust Love into the rotation in mid-November, he appeared in 49 of his available 5o NBA games
on his two-way contract. That included a stretch where he appeared in 40 straight games, as well as a few scoring outbursts in Portland wins.
Throughout the season, Love averaged 10.4 points, 2.5 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 20.7 minutes per game, while shooting 31.8% from behind the 3-point line. After struggling with his shot early, he found his groove in January, putting up 14.5 points per game and a 34.5% mark from long distance, while also breaking the 20-point threshold three different times. Love’s hot stretch coincided with one of the Blazers’ best stretches of the season, as the team ripped off six straight wins in early January to get their playoff positioning on more stable ground.
Love’s impact and badly needed scoring caused speculation that the Blazers may convert his two-way deal to a standard contract. However, Portland’s injured guards — Scoot Henderson, Blake Wesley, Matissse Thybulle and Jrue Holiday — all eventually returned, and Love was back out of the rotation in February.
Love, who will turn 25 in October, is joining a 76ers team that just pulled off a major trade to acquire All-Star Jaylen Brown. The 76ers have also been scooping up former Blazers this week. Anfernee Simons and Rayan Rupert have also agreed to deals to join the franchise.
