Kevin Love rumors: Chicago Bulls should do whatever they can to land Love
The Chicago Bulls have jumped back into the Kevin Love sweepstakes, reportedly offering the Minnesota Timberwolves big man Taj Gibson and a pair of rookies, former Real Madrid forward Nikola Mirotić and former Creighton Blue Jays’ forward Doug McDermott. Some have questioned a potential deal, especially after the Bulls agreed to a three-year deal with Los Angeles Lakers’ big man Pau Gasol.
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Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders believes trading for Love is an easy decision.
"Bill Simmons would you tell you that you never pass on trading three quarters for a dollar bill, and that’s what this trade would be. Even at the lack of depth, I’m all for it.It’s not like building a team around three studs and then stacking minimum guys around them hasn’t proven to work. That’s how the best team in the Eastern Conference the last four years operated, and they got four Finals trips and two rings out of that gameplan. Getting Love gives the Bulls the offense they hoped they were getting in McDermott and Mirotic, so you can stomach that. Pau Gasol can’t play defense like Gibson, but he’s another big in the rotation around the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and to me, that’s more than enough to win the East with the other pieces they’ve got in place there."
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 last season. Gibson averaged 13.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists per game last year while shooting 47.9% from the floor and 75.1% from the free throw line. McDermott won the Naismith Award as the country’s best player, putting up a career-high 26.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He shot 52.6% from the field, 44.9% from beyond the arc and 86.4% from the free throw line. Mirotić averaged 13.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game for Real Madrid last season.