The Kevin Love trade rumors with the Golden State Warriors have broken down and now the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks could be in the mix along with the Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns for a deal with the Timberwolves if Minnesota opts to move Love this summer.
Love has long been considered the top trade candidate for the offseason and that is due to the fact that he is set to be a free agent coming up next summer. According to ESPN.com, the talks with the Warriors broke down because the organization was split on adding Klay Thompson in the deal and now teams like the Knicks and Lakers could be in the mix, while the Celtics and Suns have the first round picks to do it.
The Knicks are coming into things knowing they would have to clear out cap space and that means deals with Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire and possibly others. The Bulls and Rockets are in the same situation and Chicago would have to move Carlos Boozer and likely Taj Gibson to make the move, as Boozer made over $15 million last season. The Houston Rockets have Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik ready to go and those deals could allow the Rockets to either trade for Love or sign Carmelo Anthony as a free agent.
Now reports have teams looking to try and get players to team up, including LeBron and Carmelo, with the Clippers, Hawks, Miami Heat and Bulls as well as the Rockets looking at that possibility. Michael Wilbon on ESPN wrote and spoke about how the longer the Wolves wait, the worse off their trade package will be, as they will lose leverage since everyone knows Love wants to opt out. The Celtics feel like they have a chance to make the deal, as they have enough players and first round picks to make the Wolves happy. The Bulls and Rockets are in the mix, while the Knicks and Lakers likely do not have enough to use in a trade to get the Wolves to pull the trigger. Love has not made the playoffs since being in Minnesota and that is one reason why he wants to play elsewhere.
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.