The Minnesota Timberwolves are trading Kevin Love and that means Ricky Rubio is the next best star on the team and he reportedly wants a max contract from the wolves and if negotiations get contentious, a trade could go down at some point and teams like the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers and Lakers could be interested and this comes ahead of the team trading for Andrew Wiggins with the Cavaliers.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Rubio is looking for a max five year deal when he gets the chance to sign an extension and that could be a problem for the Wolves. The team loves Rubio and they see him as a potential star, but he has not earned a max extension like Kyrie Irving and while the team wants to keep him, the price tag could be too high. Rubio is just 23 years old and they likely could get a nice package for him, but chances are they will not trade him after losing Love, but if they do, teams like the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers and Lakers will be interested.
The Wolves obviously don't want to just give up Rubio, but the team has backup options once the Cavaliers deal goes through and on top of that, they drafted Zach LaVine from UCLA in the draft this year and he could take over as well. The Timberwolves think that LaVine has the potential to be a starter and he is still a teenager and comes in after averaging 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists last season.
LaVine has been putting on a show this summer with his dunking skills and he comes in highly regarded from the Bruins. The Wolves have many decisions to make moving forward and once the Love deal gets done they can start working on other things. Rubio has great potential, but last season his stats were so-so and while he is playing on a bad team, he also needs to develop more into a productive point guard.
The Love trade is basically a done deal and now the details need to be worked out, as the Cavaliers and Wolves reportedly have a handshake agreement. The two teams can't pull off the trade until later in August because Andrew Wiggins signed a rookie contract and that means he cannot be traded for 30 days. Reports have the team acquiring Wiggins and a first round pick along with Anthony Bennett, but new reports may send Bennett to the Sixers for Thaddeus Young, who the Wolves have targeted to replace Love.
The Cavaliers have the deal after beating out the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors and this likely will end up a three team deal. The Wolves want to shed salary and names like Kevin Martin and JJ Barea could move and that is one reason why the Cavaliers acquired some players with nonguaranteed contracts. The Wolves want to put a solid team around Wiggins and they feel that adding Young will help with the loss of Love to the Cleveland. The deal still has time to get worked out and likely will come soon after August 23, when the 30 day limit runs out.