Kevin Love rumors: Boston Celtics still in pursuit
The Boston Celtics are one of the teams in the league armed with young talent such as guard Avery Bradley (who they just re-signed to a four-year, $32 million deal), big men Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk, their two 2014 first round draft picks and former Oklahoma State Cowboys’ point guard Marcus Smart and former Kentucky Wildcats’ James Young, among several future picks and expiring contracts.
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The Celtics started they “could have made a lot of deals by now,” but have just been waiting for the right one. The right one in the minds of the Celtics is widely thought to be Minnesota Timberwolves’ power forward Kevin Love.
The Celtics are running behind the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors but still have hopes of landing Love. As Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald explains the Celtics could also serve as a third team in a Love to pick up more assets and potentially trade for another star at a later time.
"Whether the winning asset is Andrew Wiggins, who will earn $5.5 million next season, or Doug McDermott, whose first-year salary will fall somewhere in the $2 million range, the 30-day moratorium on both contracts must first be honored.And the rest of the league, at this stage, has been suitably puzzled.“Perhaps the dollar amounts have something to do with it — that’s all I can think,” said one league official. “It sounds like Cleveland has the edge here, but I don’t think anyone really even knows right now.”Third teams may also still have to be lined up as trade partners — an obvious role for the asset-rich Celtics, even if they don’t have Love-worthy assets."
Love averaged 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game last season while shooting 45.7% from the field, 37.6% from three and 82.1% from the charity stripe.
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