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Kevin Love stays put, takes on challenge of Cavaliers' new era

One last time, LeBron James will suck all the oxygen out of Northeast Ohio. As ever, but especially today, no one will begrudge him that distinction. James was in Akron today to witness the grand opening of the I Promise School, a partnership created through his LeBron James Family Foundation and the Akron Public Schools to serve students in the city who have been academically challenged at other schools. It is another achievement of significance for James, who has already pledged to send thousands of Akron kids in the I Promise program to college through a deal with the University of Akron. And, as it is the first time James spoke publicly since signing with the Lakers at the beginning of the month, there will be some media present. Meanwhile, 40 miles or so up Interstate 77, the Cleveland Cavaliers will continue the renovation of Quicken Loans Arena, quietly, with no fanfare, the franchise again relegated to the digital back pages. But the Cavs had their own media availability last week. It wasn’t exactly adding Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets and James Harden, but getting Kevin Love’s signature on a reported four-year, $120 million extension that kicks in next summer was vital to the franchise. After 11 total seasons of James in town, the Cavs, finally, have to build a franchise without him. No one expects Love to carry the team to the heights James did. But having a five-time All-Star in Love to build around means they won’t go through the floor again as they did after Decision 1.0, when James went to the Miami Heat and the Cavs went through the floor. The less said about that 2010-11 Cavs team, which lost 26 straight games and wound up 19-63, the better -- although their futility that season did land them Kyrie Irving in the 2011 Draft. Speaking of whom: 13 months ago -- June, 2017, right after the Warriors beat the Cavaliers in five Finals games to take back the NBA championship -- who would have thought that Love would be the last among James and Irving to be left standing in Cleveland? Love staying was a huge victory for General Manager Koby Altman, whose first minutes as GM last year after taking over for David Griffin were filled by the shocking news that Irving wanted out and demanded to be traded, rather than stay and potentially be the franchise’s lynchpin if James departed. And Altman’s entire first year at the helm was filled with the fallout from that demand -- making a deal with Boston that brought Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder and Boston’s unprotected first-round pick via the Brooklyn Nets to town, then jettisoning Thomas and Crowder at the trade deadline, neither fitting in any way with James and Love and the rest of the team. But Love had his own drama to deal with. He disclosed in a first-person Players Tribune story that he suffered panic attacks that forced him to leave the Cavs’ bench during a game. And he had to face teammates during the season in a players-only meeting who accused him of tapping out and making up