Kevin Love has options. As he works toward a buyout from the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Heat, Suns and Warriors have all come up as potential landing spots.

Now add the Lakers to the list, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhost while on the Dan Patrick Show Friday. Bias Belted

“I think the Lakers are definitely kicking the tires there and looking.”

What Love prioritizes in a new home are minutes and a steady role. He had fallen out of the rotation in Cleveland, where he was glued to the bench for the last dozen games, and he wants to contribute. Love is averaging 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 35.4% from 3 this season.

The Heat have those minutes to offer, this is a team looking to add size and was in the mix for a Jae Crowder trade. Miami has started Caleb Martin at the four much of the season. The Suns would have minutes to offer, too, after trading Cameron Johnson and Jae Crowder to land Kevin Durant at the deadline. The Warriors are .500 at the All-Star break and need a shakeup, but they start Draymond Green at the four and bring JaMychal Green off the bench behind him; they may have fewer minutes to offer.

After the trade deadline, the Lakers start Jarred Vanderbilt at the four and bring Rui Hachimura off the bench behind him. How many minutes the Lakers can offer — and whether they will make the playoffs — will factor into Love’s decision.

The Cavaliers reportedly want Love to find a home in the West, they don’t like the idea of him going to Miami and potentially seeing him in a playoff series. However, once he is bought out, Love would be a free agent and the Cavs would have no say in his next move.

UPDATE: The buyout with the Cavaliers is complete and the Heat likely will sign Love now, but he is going to talk to the 76ers first, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The stacked 76ers can offer minutes behind P.J. Tucker at the four, but it would be a limited role compared to what Miami can offer.

Also, the Heat have part of their mid-level exception left as well as their bi-annual exception, they can offer more money than the 76ers or other teams.

Kevin Love wants playing time, a defined role and a chance to contribute. He wasn’t getting that in Cleveland, where he had fallen out of the rotation and been on the bench the last 12 games, so he asked for a buyout from the Cavaliers.

The Miami Heat can offer that, which is why they have become the frontrunners to land Love, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Miami Heat have emerged as leaders to sign five-time All-Star Kevin Love after he completes buyout with Cleveland, league sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Interested teams believe Miami's ability to offer a defined role and playoff positioning are leading factors.

Miami has started Caleb Martin at the four much of the season, and while he has put out his best effort they have missed what P.J. Tucker gave them the season before. Behind Martin has been a rotating group of players as Erik Spoelstra looks for something that works — rookie Nikola Jovic (out with a stress reaction in his back), Max Strus, and Haywood Highsmith have all got time.

Love would have an instant role and minutes, maybe coming off the bench at first, but moving into the starting lineup is not hard to envision.

There are other teams interested. The Suns would likely have a role for him off the bench, and the Lakers and Warriors have also been mentioned (although the roles with them are tougher to define).

Miami likely makes the most sense, but Cleveland will not like it — the Heat are a potential playoff matchup with the Cavaliers.

Expect this deal to get done by the time the All-Star break ends.

SALT LAKE CITY — Because we don’t want any millionaire NBA All-Stars with hurt feelings…

The NBA has tweaked the draft format for the All-Star Game this year, with captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo picking the All-Stars on the court about 30 minutes before the actual game tips-off. The idea was to make it a little more playground-style.

But to avoid any hurt feeling about being the last pick, the captains will choose the reserves first and then the starters, it has leaked out before the game (most notably, Ernie Johnson said it on Inside the NBA on TNT). So, technically, the last player picked will be one of the starters.

Here are a few thoughts on this:

• Everyone is going to know who the last reserve player is anyway, they will still be the last person picked in the mind of fans.

• Why is the NBA fixing something that wasn’t a problem? In the 2019 draft, the last player picked was Bradley Beal, it didn’t exactly bruise his ego. Domantas Sabonis was the last pick in 2020, in 2021 it was Rudy Gobert (this was the only year there was much talk about it, but it was more about Gobert not being all that popular among players, not about his skills). Last season was the hysterical moment when Kevin Durant refused to pick James Harden — who had just forced his way off Durant’s Nets — and LeBron kept him on the board trying to force KD to take him, so Harden was the last player picked.

• Usually you would pick the reserves who complement the starters (who, presumably, would get a few more minutes). Now that is upended, with LeBron and Giannis having to choose starters that fit best with the reserves.

• I guess we’re doing this. Drafting the players 30 minutes before the game should be interesting.

SALT LAKE CITY — He’s not just Grand Theft Alvarado anymore.

He is also Jose Alvarado, Rising Stars MVP and the guy who drained the game-winning shot for Team Pau at the All-Star Friday night event.

TEAM PAU WINS #JordanRisingStars pic.twitter.com/EqyNmSdlWT

What’s cold-blooded is he called his shot to Donovan Mitchell just before that play.

Jose Alvarado called his game-winner to Spida. That's cold.#JordanRisingStars | #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/OBsePuuZGS

Alvarado was playing hard and taking this exhibition seriously from the start, scoring 13 points in the first game of the four-team tournament, where young stars from the NBA and G-League Ignite divided into the teams coached by NBA legends (Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Deron Williams, and Jason Terry, who led a roster comprised entirely of G Leaguers). Team Gasol beat Team Williams, then in the second game Team Joakim beat the G-Leaguers in a race to 40 (this event uses the Elam Ending with a target score rather than a timed game).

That set the stage for Alvarado’s heroics.

We can only hope the players on Sunday are having as much fun and playing as hard as Alvarado did on Friday night.

The greatest Maverick in franchise history, two Spurs icons and the best Spaniard in NBA history — a guy who helped Kobe pick up a couple of rings — are all up for the basketball’s highest honor.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the finalists for the 2023 class, and some players who are locks to get in sit at the top of that board: Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Gregg Popovich and Tony Parker.

At the top of the list from the North American Committee are:

Dwyane Wade is arguably the greatest two guard in the game’s history (assuming Jordan is a three), a three-time NBA champion and the 2006 Finals MVP. His resume includes eight All-NBA teams and 13 trips to the All-Star game, but more than that he is the talisman of the Miami Heat, the franchise icon that belongs in the Hall.

Dirk Nowitzki is the greatest Maverick ever and the greatest European player in NBA history, an NBA champion and Finals MVP, plus he won the regular season MVP in 2007. His consistency over a 21-year career is legendary and he is sixth all-time in scoring in league history, plus he was a 12-time All-NBA player and 14-time All-Star. The only thing more sure than Nowitzki getting in is Mark Cuban being there for his enshrinement.

Gregg Popovich, the iconic coach of the five-time champion San Antonio Spurs — a team that won 50+ games 18-straight seasons with him at the helm, helping him on the way to being the winningest coach in NBA history. “Pop” also was always active with Team USA, including taking over the head coaching job and helping USA Basketball win the gold again in the Tokyo Olympics. One of the legends he coached was…

Tony Parker, the point guard for much of the Spurs’ legendary run, is a four-time NBA champion and was Finals MVP in 2007. He has four All-NBA nods and six All-Star trips, but what cements his spot in the Hall of Fame is his international resume, he was the MVP of EuroBasket 2013, which France won.’

Pau Gasol is another player with an impressive NBA and international resume. He is a two-time NBA champion, four-time All-NBA, six-time All-Star, and was the Rookie of the Year in 2002. He led Spain to the FIBA World Championship in 2006 and won three Olympic medals (two silver, one bronze), and he carried the flag for Spain at the 2012 Olympics.

• Gene Keady, the legendary Purdue coach who was a seven-time Big Ten Coach of the Year.

• Gene Bess, who coached the Three Rivers Community College in Popular Bluff, Mo., for 50 years, winning 1,300 games (he’s the winningest college basketball coach across all levels).

• David Hixon, who coached at Amherst College for 42 years and amassed 826 wins and two D3 national championships.

Rubber Formula • Becky Hammon, who most NBA fans know as the first women’s assistant coach in the NBA and current coach of the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, but before that she was a six-time WNBA All-Star.