Report: NBA could block Kevin Love to Cavaliers trade from happening

It’s been heavily reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to terms on a trade that will send Andrew Wiggins, Andrew Bennett and a first-round pick to Minnesota and Kevin Love to Cleveland. The deal can not be officially completed until August 23, one month after Wiggins signed his rookie contract with the Cavs.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

• NBA insider: Cavaliers should consider trading Donovan Mitchell
• Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
• NBA Rumors: 3 teams that should trade for Joel Embiid
• NBA rumors: How Donovan Mitchell could wind up on the trading block
• The new NBA flopping rules explained

However, there is a scenario in which the deal that pairs Love with LeBron James doesn’t come to fruition. The NBA can block the trade if it is found that Love, who is scheduled to be a free agent after next season, has formally agreed that he will re-sign with the team at that time.

From ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and and Marc Stein:

"But sources say that the Cavs and Wolves, knowing that league officials are monitoring this transaction closely, have been careful not to make any public acknowledgments that trade details have already been agreed to. That’s because Wiggins remains ineligible to move moved until 30 days pass from the signing his rookie contract.The Cavs were granted permission last month by Minnesota to speak to Love and his representatives in an introductory fashion, sources say, while James and Love have also been in direct contact about their long-term intentions of playing together in recent weeks. But sources insist that no agreement for Love to sign an extension in Cleveland next summer when he can become a free agent is in place.Under NBA rules, such an agreement would be illegal and, if proven, potentially could be grounds for the league to block this trade and dole out punishment to both teams. The Wolves were infamously sanctioned heavily in 2000 after it was discovered that the club had promised a lucrative future contract — in writing — to Joe Smith, incurring a fine of $3.5 million and the loss of four first-round picks as well as suspensions for owner Glen Taylor and then-GM Kevin McHale."

This deal is almost certainly being done with Love and the Cavs coming to some under-the-table agreement that he will re-sign, but as Brett Pollakoff of Pro Basketball Talk notes, unless this is put in writing or someone involved in the trade comes out and talks about the agreement, there’s not much the NBA can do to block it.

So while the NBA blocking this deal remains a possibility, it’s extremely improbable unless a massive slip-up is made by one of the parties involved.