Kevin Love trade: ‘No deal is close’
The rumors surrounding Minnesota Timberwolves’ power forward Kevin Love have been circulating for some time, but they have really ramped up as of late.
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At different points in time it has looked like the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, who each have young talent and two first round picks in next week’s 2014 NBA Draft, were the favorites. The Houston Rockets could pursue Love to give Dwight Howard and James Harden a third superstar who could serve as a perfect stretch-four alongside Howard. The Los Angeles Lakers, Love’s hometown team and the Phoenix Suns, who showed vast improvement this season, are also expected to be in the mix.
Now, it looks like the Golden State Warriors may be the favorites to land Love. The Timberwolves and Warriors are reportedly discussing a deal that would send Love, Kevin Martin, J.J. Barea and the 13th-overall pick to the Warriors for Klay Thompson and David Lee. It was originally thought the Warriors wouldn’t make Thompson available, but they now seem prepared to deal him.
However, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that “no deal is close.”
"No deal is close," league source involved in Minnesota-Golden State talks on Kevin Love tells Yahoo. "(Pieces) change all the time."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 19, 2014
With Love, the Warriors could go from mid-tier Western Conference playoff team to an instant legitimate championship contender.
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.