NBA Rumors: Could Warriors trade David Lee, Harrison Barnes for Kevin Love?
There are many around the league who now believe the Minnesota Timberwolves would be better served trading star power forward Kevin Love sooner rather than later so that the situation does not linger into the 2014-2015 regular season and become a distraction for the team.
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That has led to several rumors and the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns are all expected to be players for Love. Plus, other teams could get into the mix.
The Warriors, who landed a big-time free agent a year ago when they signed forward Andre Iguodala away from the Denver Nuggets, will obviously have to do a lot of work to get a deal done. However, they do have a deep and talented roster, which is why Chuck Myron of Hoops believes they could pull off a deal for Love using power forward David Lee and forward Harrison Barnes.
"I think Minnesota could do worse than David Lee and Harrison Barnes. Lee fits the mold of the productive veteran that Flip Saunders is reportedly seeking, while Barnes, just two years removed from having been the seventh overall pick, provides the upside. I think the Wolves would hold out for a first-rounder in that scenario, or insist that Golden State take back a bad contract."
The addition of Iguodala makes Barnes expendable and a starting lineup of Andrew Bogut, Love, Iguodala, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry would be one of, if not the, best in the league.
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.