The Cleveland Cavaliers are now one of the favorites in the east after LeBron James signed back with the team and a Kevin Love trade could be part of the fold, as rumors have the Cavs looking at a deal involving Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and potential first round picks, while currently Andrew Wiggins is off limits in a move to the Timberwolves as the two sides negotiate.
The Cavaliers were one of the teams interested in Love around the draft, but the team did not pull off the deal and instead picked Andrew Wiggins with the number one pick. According to ESPN.com, the Cavaliers are picking up on the trade talks again and have so far offered Dion Waiters, Anthony Bennett and a future first round pick. Bennett was the number one overall pick last season and so far the team has said that Wiggins is not going to be part of the deal. The Timberwolves want Wiggins if a deal goes down and right now no deal is currently coming close to happening.
Sources have told ESPN.com that the Timberwolves are reluctant to deal Love, as they feel they can make one more run with him and could possibly convince him to re-sign to at least play out his contract. Love can be a free agent in 2015 and his contract runs through 2016 and he has made it clear that he wants to test the market. Love has been an All-Star for half of his career and he has yet to make the playoffs in Minnesota and that is another reason why he wants out.
Love is one of the best young players in the league and he factored into the MVP voting for the first time in his career after averaging over 25 points and 11 rebounds this season. Love will have many suitors if he hits the market and he now has said that he is "intrigued" by the Cavaliers and would think about signing long term if he was traded there. Love would be the biggest get for the team apart from LeBron and would make the team a championship contender.
Love has been the top name mentioned in trade rumors into the NBA offseason and while the Timberwolves don't want to trade their star, teams like the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers have been mentioned as possible destinations and a wild card could be the Phoenix Suns, who reportedly are willing to offer Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe in a deal if the sign Bledsoe back.
Love has been one of the most consistent young players in the league over the past few years and he has established himself as a very productive forward for the Timberwolves. Love averaged over 25 points and 12 rebounds last season for the Wolves and after missing the playoffs once again it started to feel like it was inevitable that he would leave after they missed the postseason again. According to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein, the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors are two teams that Love would be open to going to and that could go down later this summer. Pro Basketball Talk.