The Minnesota Timberwolves have suddenly become the focal point of the NBA offseason and they realize it. The second is was reported that Kevin Love had no intentions of signing a contract extension and would test the market in 2015, every team began to wonder what kind of deal the team would want for the forward. Currently in the midst of a coaching search while also sifting through draft prospects, the Timberwolves are stressing that patience is their No. 1 priority.
Minnesota is taking their time. The market will not start to heat up until the end of June when the draft approaches so the Timberwolves have plenty of time to figure out if they plan on trading Love or now. According to general manager Milt Newton, the team has not even begun to consider trading their best player.
"We'll do what's best for the organization,'' Newton said, via ESPN.com. "He's a hell of a player, a hell of a talent. Our first inclination is to keep him on board. If that's not the case, you best believe we'll be a better team based on what happens.''
Minnesota is at a standstill. They have not made the playoffs in 10 seasons. They are looking for a new coach once again and their best player wants out. Trading Love could get them a solid combination of players in return. Keeping him for another year means losing him for nothing. There are key decisions to make and Newton does not want to rush anything.
Along with a trade of Love, there is also interest in point guard Ricky Rubio who Newton says gets calls every day about a price tag. Armed with a first-round pick and three second-round picks, the Timberwolves could trade both players and end up with a nice grouping come next season. It would be a total rebuilding effort, but after not making the playoffs for 10 seasons, clearly the original roster simply was not working.
The Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers are just a few teams looking at Love, along with the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets. Rubio could also be getting attention from a few of those teams with many of them loaded with tradable assets that would work in the Timberwolves' favor. The team just needs to decide how much rebuilding they are willing to withstand this offseason.
