The Kevin Love trade rumors with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves are heating up, as the Cavs are willing to trade Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett along with a first round pick to the Wolves and players like Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson also could be included as things progress and this comes after LeBron James made it clear he wants to play alongside Love.
The Timberwolves have been talking with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors about a deal for Love this offseason and their main targets have been Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson. According to ESPN.com, the Cavaliers are now willing to put Wiggins in the deal after previously holding him out and some in the NBA think the Wolves are using the Warriors and the Cavaliers to drive up the price on Love and that they prefer Thompson over Wiggins.
Chris Broussard writes that the Cavaliers originally offered Dion Waiters and Anthony Bennett along with a first round pick for Love and so far that hasn't been enough for the Wolves. The players are the last two number one overall picks and Wiggins is considered to be one of the best prospects to come out of college basketball in a number of years. Both players are from Canada and Wiggins is considered the one with the higher ceiling, while Bennett is more of a project player.
The Warriors and Timberwolves have been in discussions for some time and those talks have been held up by the fact that Golden State is unwilling to put in Thompson. The Warriors have offered Harrison Barnes along with David Lee in a deal for Love and they are trying to keep Thompson out of it. The Wolves are trying to get the most they can out of the Love deal and Wiggins is a prize and so is Thompson. The Timberwolves are okay with waiting until the season to trade Love, but there is a chance that deal could happen this summer. The Cavaliers or Warriors would be conference favorites with a deal for Love and James has expressed his interest in playing for Love, while Love said he was "intrigued" by the thought of playing in Cleveland.
Kyrie Irving signed a max deal with the Cavaliers and he will be there long term and this move by the team would mean that they want to win now with James and the deal would be a blockbuster. The Cavaliers did not make the playoffs last season and they have won the last two draft lotteries and now they have the chance to get back to the postseason. Love is coming off of one of his best seasons after averaging 25 points and 12 rebounds per game and he said that he is itching to make the playoffs after missing it in the last six seasons.
Love said that he wants to test the market and he is the top option in the 2015 class if he makes it without being traded and he has the chance to opt out next summer. The Wolves want to get a big package for Love since he has been targeted so much and this comes after teams like the LA Lakers, NY Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets were considered options early in the offseason.
