The Golden State Warriors are still in the Kevin Love trade talks and while they aren't yet offering Klay Thompson in the trade, names like David Lee, Harrison Barnes, Jordan Crawford, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala could be options for the Minnesota Timberwolves, as they are trying to offload Kevin Martin and JJ Barea in the Love deal and this comes as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls are also in the mix.
The Warriors were the first team to get into major talks with the Wolves and things looked like they had the chance to happen around the draft. According to ESPN.com, the Warriors are unwilling to part with Klay Thompson and that has opened things up for the Cavaliers and the Bulls to try and get a deal done. Golden State is reluctant to give up Thompson and they have instead offered a combination of David Lee, Harrison Barnes and a future first round pick.
The team is not looking to blow up its roster, but to get a deal done they may have to give up those players along with either Andrew Bogut or Iguodala, but it's likely that the Wolves will not deal without Thompson. The Wolves are eager to get the best deal they can for Love, but if they have the chance, they want some NBA ready players so that they are not in another rebuild for years. The team sees Thompson as the perfect cornerstone and while the Wolves are in talks with the Cavaliers about Andrew Wiggins, some in the NBA think it's a ploy to get the Warriors to relent on Thompson.
The team loves what they have in Thompson and Pro Basketball Talk reports that defense is another reason why they do not want to do the deal. Thompson is not an elite defender, but moving him could expose the back court with Steph Curry and that is not something the Warriors want to do. The team cultivated a top 10 defense under Mark Jackson and while Steve Kerr is coming in, the Warriors want to keep that going.
The Warriors have made a number of moves this offseason already, including signing Brandon Rush and Shaun Livingston. Those deals make the bench stronger and while they are not elite players, it could help hold things together if a deal goes down. Livingston signed for a three-year, $16 million deal and he could be a very good option off the bench after the way he played in Brooklyn last season.
The Cavaliers started off their deal with Dion Waiters and Anthony Bennett and now they have added Wiggins over Waiters with a first round pick as well. The team pulled off a side deal to get more pieces for a trade, but the Cavs likely need a third team to help handle the Wolves, as they want to move Barea and Martin. The Chicago Bulls also opted to jump back into things and this comes after they were originally mentioned as a destination earlier in the offseason. The team is reportedly ready to offer some names like Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic to get a deal done and that could be very tempting.