Saw a thread in reddit recently where they explored the max salaries of various free agents and potential free agents.
Looks like Love with 5th year to the Cavaliers would be a total value of about 107 million, versus just under 80 million if he signs with a new club outright.
About 3/4 down you can find the details - warning LOTS OF MATH
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/2t4bq5/max_salaries_for_the_top_2015_free_agents_with/
Thanks, TP
So, here's the breakdown
Contract Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total
Bird 5-year $18,639,102 $20,037,034 $21,434,967 $22,832,899 $24,230,832 $107,174,834
Bird 4-year $18,639,102 $20,037,034 $21,434,967 $22,832,899 N/A $82,944,032
Standard 4-year $18,639,102 $19,477,861 $20,316,621 $21,155,380 N/A $79,588,964
So Love would receive the same amount year one. By year 4, he would be getting $1.7 mil less. That's not much of a sacrifice relative to the total dollar amounts. If he is given an opt out after year 1, he wouldn't lose out at all... except the 5th guarantee. Assuming the team he signs with has the cap space, a sign and trade doesn't make much sense.