Coach K says he would trade Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love
Ever since LeBron James announced his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, there has been rampant speculation that the team was looking to trade for Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love. The trade would likely result in the Cavaliers parting ways with No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins.
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Reports are stating that the Cavaliers are expected to sign Wiggins this week, which would make him unavailable for the team to trade for 30 days.
With Wiggins’ signing imminent, the trade for Love is likely off the table. Regardless, the topic is still being discussed throughout the NBA community, and Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski recently gave his thoughts on the potential trade on CBS Sports radio:
"There’s absolutely not one second of hesitancy. I’d trade for Kevin Love. That’s not saying anything bad about any of the other youngsters. Love’s an All-Star and he’s a double-double guy. But he’s a double-double guy who can spread the court. There aren’t many double-double guys who can spread the floor; he can go inside and outside. There may be a low post player that gets you a double double, but Love, you can do a lot of different things with him."
Coach K is essentially stating that he would trade Wiggins for Love due to the fact that Love is a proven All-Star, while Wiggins is only a prospect at this point. Coach K has had personal experience coaching Love during his time on Team USA, and spoke about Love’s potential to be one of the NBA’s best.
"I’ve coached him on two teams, and no pun intended, I love Kevin Love. You look at LeBron, and you have the best player in the world. He’s 29, I’m not saying he’s at the end of his career, but he’s in the second-half of his career. And in the first half of his career he was becoming a great player. It took time, just like with Andrew Wiggins, it takes time. LeBron is a great player right now, you do not want to waste any year of a great player’s career. Love is close to being that. He’s not as great a player as LeBron, but he’s there. You know who Love is right now."
Although Coach K echoes this sentiment, it seems the Cavaliers are unwilling to part ways with Wiggins right now. If that changes over the next few days, however, the prospect of LeBron James teaming up with Kevin Love has to be a real worry for the rest of the league.