The Kevin Love trade rumors are going strong during the playoffs and the Boston Celtics are among teams like the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors that are interested in trading for the Timberwolves star and he reportedly was in Boston this weekend to check things out.
Love has been the main target for teams this offseason and the Celtics could be one of the wild cards in the mix, as they have enough first round picks to away the Timberwolves if they opt to make a deal. Love is coming into the last year of his deal and he has said that he plans on testing the free agent market once he gets the chance to do so and he can opt out if his deal next summer in 2015 and he stands to be a very coveted free agent.
The Chicago Bulls and Warriors are considered the favorites for Love because he prefers those teams and reports also say that the New York Knicks and LA Lakers are also in the mix because they are big market teams. Love is coming off of another great year after averaging a double-double and factoring into the MVP vote and he has been one of the most consistent players in the league over the past few seasons. Love was injured last season before coming back fully healthy this year and he now is the big prize for teams heading into the offseason.
Chicago is trying to make a Big 3 with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and they see Love or Carmelo Anthony as top targets this offseason to do it. The Bulls will need to clear some cap space to get anything done with Anthony or Love and they likely will look to trade Carlos Boozer or amnesty to get one of those deal done. The Rockets are also trying to make moves this offseason and they may try and get Love as well and they are in the mix for Anthony too. According to SI.com, the Rockets and the Bulls are the two main teams going for Anthony and Houston will need to make some trades to get that deal done. Houston has both Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik on the last years of their contracts and with the money they are making they have no choice but to try and move them.
The Rockets come into the offseason after losing in the playoffs and they are looking to make a big move to get another player alongside James Harden and Dwight Howard. The team has moves to make and now the Celtics are in the mix as well after Love visited the city this weekend. The team has a great PG in Rajon Rondo and a great head coach in Brad Stevens and they also have first round picks and young players to make a deal appealing. The team may not end up pulling off the deal, but with a high draft pick this season, the team is in the mix after losing 57 games in 2013-14.