With a good portion of the marquee free agents signed over the weekend, the NBA headlines shift to Kevin Love and his pending future with the Minnesota Timberwolves. So far, the team has gotten numerous offers for the forward, but have yet to make a move, weighing all of their options. Prior to the NBA Draft, a trade to the Golden State Warriors seemed like a guarantee, but Minnesota did not budge on their offer. With the Cleveland Cavaliers coming into focus after acquiring LeBron James, who is the favorite for Love?
The Warriors were the frontrunners for Love before the draft. They had several young assets to make up for their insistence of keeping Klay Thompson and they had draft picks to seal the deal. However, the Timberwolves held onto Love in hopes that the Warriors would budge and include Thompson in any trade package. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers locked down point guard Kyrie Irving and won the James sweepstakes, pushing them to the front of the Love race. So which team wins?
According to ESPN's Marc Stein, Love is still very intrigued by the idea of signing to the Warriors. The forward has always been a West Coast guy and would ideally like to return their in his next contract. However, Stein is also reporting that Love does like the idea of joining up with James and Irving in Cleveland and would sign a long-term contract if sent there. Suddenly, the Boston Celtics are in the back of the pack in trade talks.
The issue is that Love does not get to decide his future. After announcing that he would test the market in 2015, the Timberwolves have the upperhand in deciding where Love plays next season, not the forward. It will come down to the trade package. Like the Timberwolves, the Cavaliers have a player that is not touchable, Andrew Wiggins. Many NBA sources are reporting that a deal for Love cannot be done with just players like Dion Waiters and Anthony Bennett, Wiggins must be included. The Warriors are in a similar spot with Thompson. A deal including the likes of David Lee and Harrison Barnes are not peaking interest.
If no trade happens this offseason, the Cavaliers have the advantage next offseason. Having James certainly ranks over Stephen Curry and others. Even the Celtics with Rajon Rondo might not be enough to overshadow the chance of playing with James in his peak years.
