Kevin Love Trade: 5 Best Potential Destinations
2. Phoenix Suns:
After signing-and-trading for Isaiah Thomas and drafting Tyler Ennis, the Phoenix Suns easily have the league’s best and deepest backcourt. Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe were unstoppable when they were on the floor together last season and Thomas represents an intriguing sixth man option. That being said, Thomas might be too good to be a backup and restricted free agent Bledsoe represents an ideal trade chip in a Kevin Love deal.
The Suns would have to give up a considerable amount to make a deal work and they likely wouldn’t convince Minnesota to partake without including Bledsoe. Phoenix would need to convince Bledsoe to agree to a sign-and-trade and they’d probably have to give up at least one of the Morris twins, if not both. Markieff Morris was tremendous for the Suns last season and Marcus Morris is a great perimeter shooter. Gerald Green might be another option if the Wolves were interested, though it’s unlikely given his last unsuccessful stint in Minnesota.
Seeing @WojYahooNBA and @paulcoro reports of suns going after LeBron, Melo. If they miss, I expect them to get into Love sweepstakes.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 29, 2014
The Warriors provide the best deal if the Wolves want to win now. The Celtics have the best offer if the Wolves are ready to commit to a full rebuild. But the Phoenix Suns might just have the best combination with a little of both since they also have a few tantalizing upcoming draft picks, including a first rounder from the Los Angeles Lakers next year. Would Kevin Love re-sign in Phoenix? It depends on how much the Suns have to give up in order to acquire him in a trade. But Goran Dragic, Kevin Love, Isaiah Thomas and whatever promising young pieces are left over would help the Suns get to the playoffs and it’d be the perfect system for Love offensively. It’s possible he’d be gone in free agency, but one year under Jeff Hornacek might change that perspective.