The Kevin Love trade rumors are picking up again hard and the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago bulls are battling to get it done with the Timberwolves, but now things will take a pause, as Andrew Wiggins signed his contract, stopping things for 30-days and ESPN sources report that the Cavs are in front despite the Bulls offering Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic, as they have offered Wiggins and Anthony Bennett.
According to ESPN.com, the Bulls and Cavaliers are the teams left standing over the Golden State Warriors, as that team is not willing to give up Klay Thompson. The Bulls jumped back in after the Cavaliers talk slowed down a bit, but now they have the inside edge since they are offering Wiggins, who initially was not in their first offer to the Timberwolves. Minnesota covets Thompson the most, but that appears to not be in the cards and the Bulls are looking to try and deal after signing Pau Gasol, offering Gibson, McDermott and Mirotic in their package.
The Cavaliers have now officially signed Andrew Wiggins to his rookie contract and that means he cannot be traded for 30 days. The team now cannot pull off the deal until near the end of August, but sources say that it will not affect the Timberwolves making the trade. The Cavaliers originally offered Anthony Bennett along with Dion Waiters with a first round pick, but that wasn't enough and they convinced the Cavs to relent and include Wiggins.
The break after Wiggins signed actually could be good for the Cavs, as the Timberwolves reportedly want to trade Kevin Martin and JJ Barea to clear salary and right now Cleveland can't take that on. The team traded with the Jazz for some nonguaranteed players to move so the Wolves can clear salary, but Pro Basketball Talk that a third team may need to be in the mix to get things done. The Cavaliers feel that adding Love is the key to making a championship run here and now that LeBron James is in the fold, it's a realistic possibility.
McDermott comes into the NBA after playing four years in college, which Mirotic played in Europe, so they are more experienced in ways than Wiggins is. Clearly Wiggins has the higher upside as the number one overall pick in the draft this year, but the Wolves may think about the Bulls deal as well. The Timberwolves know that Kevin Love wants to leave and he will be testing free agency if he is not traded, so they should work out a package for him to at least get something in return.
Love has turned into one of the best forward in the game and he averaged 25 points and over 12 rebounds last season and now he could be traded. Love factored into the MVP voting and now he has the chance to hit free agency next summer. Love would be the main target on the market like he is now and teams like the Knicks, Lakers, Rockets and Cavaliers all would go after him if it makes it to free agency over a trade.
