Kevin Love's long, strange offseason saga with the Minnesota Timberwolves is going to ratchet up in a big way now that the free-agent dominoes have started to fall.
According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Love is certainly tempted by what the Cleveland Cavaliers have to offer.
Source close to situation says Kevin Love indeed "intrigued" by idea of being dealt to Cavs and would commit long there if traded there
ESPN's Chris Broussard comments on who a potential package would not include:
Not expecting Dion Waiters to be a part of any KLove trade
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 11, 2014
Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News has an update on another team that still could be interested in Love's services:
Second NBA source: The Warriors have no plans to offer Klay Thompson to Minnesota, even if CLE comes in aggressively for Kevin Love.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) July 11, 2014
Of course, Stein's report came out shortly after LeBron James announced in an article written by Lee Jenkins of SI.com that he was going back to Cleveland after a four-year detour in Miami.
As for what it could take for the Cavaliers to land a superstar talent like Love in a trade, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com offers his take from around the league:
As the LeBron after-effects crank up, word among multiple team execs is No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins will be in play in Kevin Love trade.
— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) July 11, 2014
So much has been said and written about Love's potential destination since the regular season ended. For a long time, Golden State seemed like the most realistic spot because the Warriors have a young, star-laden nucleus that would appeal to the Timberwolves.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reported in June that the Warriors weren't including Klay Thompson in trade discussions:
Warriors source disputes the idea that Klay Thompson has "been made available" to Minnesota in Kevin Love talks. Not GSWs' style, anyway...
With no deal being consummated to this point, everything has opened up for Love and the Timberwolves. No one would have listed Cleveland as a serious contender to land the All-Star unless a variety of things went right.
Kyrie Irving re-signed with Cleveland, and then LeBron made the decision to return home. Suddenly, the Cavaliers are arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference and one of the favorites to win an NBA title next year. Love's contract will also be a critical component of any trade. He can become a free agent after the 2014-15 season if he decides to opt out of his contract, which will put him in line for a huge multi-year deal.
That part of the equation will work itself out because teams will line up to pay big money for a soon-to-be 26-year-old who averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last year. The Timberwolves just have to find a trade partner that will match their asking price.
It would be wise for Minnesota to take action sooner than later for fear of losing Love and getting nothing in return, or getting only a marginal return compared to what could be available with more team control available.
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