The Kevin Love trade rumors will continue through the summer for the Timberwolves until they make a choice about whether to trade him or not and teams like the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns remain interested in a deal with Minnesota and both the Bulls and Rockets could go after Love rather than sign Carmelo Anthony as a free agent.
Love has been the most talked about player in the NBA over the past year because he can be a free agent after this season and he has made it clear he wants to test the market. According to ESPN.com, Love expressed frustration about not making it to the playoffs while with the team and he also said that he wants to be on a team in a bigger city once he can be a free agent. The Wolves now have to decide about trading Love and so fat owner Glen Taylor has pushed against that decision, while coach Flip Saunders is taking the lead at trying to keep him in Minnesota.
Love is not signing another extension to stay in Minnesota and this comes as he had a great season in 2013-14, again averaging a double-double and also factoring into the MVP voting. According to ESPN.com, the Bulls and the Rockets are the front runners, but those two teams each need to make other moves to get a deal done. The Rockets will have to trade Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, while the Bulls need to move Carlos Boozer and likely some other players to get the cap space for a deal.
Anthony is the main target for the Rockets and the Bulls, but they realize he also may stay in New York and they need to have other plans in case that falls through. Anthony had a great season for a bad Knicks team and while NY is a place Love would be open to going to, the team likely don't have enough draft picks to sway Minnesota into making a deal. The Knicks won just 37 games last season and they are looking top turn things around quickly and having Anthony come back is the first step for Phil Jackson and company.
Love would be open to the Golden State Warriors as well and the Lakers have long been considered an option because of his ties to Los Angeles. The Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns have the first round picks to make a deal and that puts the two of them in position to try as well. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Saunders said he will not get a better deal than what the Celtics give and that could be an option for both sides. Love visited the city this summer and played some ball with Rajon Rondo and the Celtics could look at blowing up the long term future to get back some short term success with Love. Teams are hoping that Love will sign a long term extension after being traded and that could be the key to a deal.