Kevin Love's middle name is Wesley but with all of the rumors and outcries surrounding him, you would think it would be Drama.

Just this morning, the latest Love-craze hit the Internet when he spoke honestly about his friendship with LeBron James and his free agent options. Playing for a team with one of the league's biggest superstar in James will cause these issues to arise on a daily basis but Love doesn't seem to mind. The Cavs are winning and as he spoke with CBSSports.com on the behalf of Built With Chocolate Milk, not only does Love like the city of Cleveland but he is happy to be part of such a close-knit team. 

The following Q&A is lightly edited for clarity and flow.

CBSSports.com: We are chatting pretty early in the morning right now, I’m fine with it but am curious, are you a morning or night person?

Kevin Love: When I was younger, I was more of a morning person. As time has gone on and obviously with what my job entails now with all of the late nights, I am more of a night person just because I have to be.

CBSSports.com: There are all of these rumors about you going to a bigger market like Los Angeles, where you could maybe get more money from endorsements. But here in Cleveland, you were able to align yourself with brands like Starter and Chocolate Milk, so do you think you can succeed wherever you are no matter the location?

Kevin Love: Yeah, I think so. Obviously the fact that I’m coming up on free agency and with any of the top players that are going to be free agents, there always is going to be that kind of talk. This is a place where I don’t necessarily dominate the ball but I am still often effective and able to really help this team when I’m out there on the floor. For me, I am excited to be going to my first playoffs. I want to see how far that gets me.

Being a part of this organization has really been great. People are classy here and the fanbase is really great.

CBSSports.com: You are playing with two exciting players in Kyrie and LeBron. Are there times that you are just shaking your head after one of their plays?

Kevin Love: As more and more time goes on those moments accumulate. Especially with LeBron who is obviously in his prime. Kyrie is young and it is kind of scary to think about but he is still figuring out the game. He is going to continually get better. Kyrie has had some finishes around the rim that have me shaking my head.

With LeBron it could be a pass or even a defensive play where he gets in the passing lane or a finish with one of his signature dunks. You kind of just shake your head and think that he is the only person in the world who can make that play.

CBSSports.com: It seems like you guys have also developed a strong bond in the six plus months that you have been there. You guys are always posting up those Instagram photos after games. How is the camaraderie there? How is everything going for you?

Kevin Love: The camaraderie has been great. This team is very close. We have a mix of guys, you know? Guys like who are in their second year like Delly (Matthew Dellavedova). Joe Harris is in his first year, he’s our rook which always makes it fun to have him do the different duties. Then we have guys like Brendan Haywood, James Jones, Mike Miller and Shawn Marion, that are all the way up into their fifteenth or sixteenth season.

We have a good influx of guys that have played several different years from all different walks of life and we are all coming together for one common goal which makes it that much more fun.

CBSSports.com: Yeah, I heard that you bought hats for everyone with their nicknames on them.

Kevin Love: Yeah, I’m actually wearing mine right now.

(Laughs) I know you’ve been secretive about it but I’m curious, what is up with this "Menace" nickname for you?

Kevin Love: It is just something we do for fun. It is mainly between myself, Kyrie, James Jones and Mike Miller but the whole team has a lot of fun with it. We all have different handshakes that you may see before the game. It is all in good fun and we keep it pretty light but at the end of the day we know that we have a job to do.

CBSSports.com: How are you liking the city of Cleveland?

Kevin Love: I live downtown so I’m only a couple blocks away from where we play so it is super easy and efficient to get around. The practice facility is one of the best in the entire league.

It is also a foodie town and nostalgically it kind of reminds me of Portland in a lot of ways. Except for the rain, there is a lot of snow and wind off of Lake Erie. That is fine with me though. I came from Minnesota so it wasn’t too hard to adjust.

CBSSports.com: Since you brought up Minnesota and we talked a bit about how tight the Cavs are now, I know Nikola Pekovic was your guy when you played for the Timberwolves. Are you still able to keep in touch?

Kevin Love: He was always a good time. When he was on the floor, he always brought it. We had a good little back and forth on the court. I was able to play off him since he was so big and would take up so much space down low as our five.

Off the court we had a great friendship as well, which still remains but with him being in a different conference and in Minnesota which is far away, we don’t keep in touch as much as we used to. He is still one of my better friends in the league.

CBSSports.com: You often bring up how you are a big homebody. What is your favorite piece of furniture that you own? You know, something that you are really proud to have in your home.

Kevin Love: Naturally it is my bed. You have to have a great bed, especially at my size. Then a big couch with a nice little ottoman that you can put all of your things on to watch your Netflix, HBO Go and Apple TV. So probably my TV, my couch and my bed not really in that order. Hard to rank ‘em.

CBSSports.com: Yeah I’m big fan of my couch as well. Knowing that you played with Russell Westbrook at UCLA, what has your experience been like watching his triple-double spree from afar?

Kevin Love: He is just in the zone right now. I think he is trying to do whatever possible, to will his team to the playoffs. With KD out, I think that they made some good trades at the deadline to really help them. Especially with a guy like (Enes) Kanter who brings a lot to their team and now with Serge (Ibaka) being out, I think that trade really helped them.

Russ is really playing well. At his size, and with what he does with the ball and how he plays both ends of the floor, he is arguably the most devastating player in the league. It is really amazing to watch and I’m rooting for him.

CBSSports.com: Players resting has been a big topic lately especially with Steve Kerr e-mailing fans that complained about not being able to see Steph Curry. With you resting, a week or so ago, do understand where the fans are coming from?

Kevin Love: It is tough sometimes when a fan pays to see their favorite players play and then they get to the game and they are resting. In my instance, Coach Blatt came up to me and wanted me to take game or two off which I did. A couple days rest, did me well because when I came back, I felt pretty rested. Coach was thinking long-term but I definitely understand where the fans are coming from. They are a huge part of our game but at the end of the day, I’m sure they want us to have the best chance of holding up that Larry O’Brien trophy.



Kevin Love is all smiles in Cleveland.
Kevin Love is all smiles in Cleveland. (USATSI)