The Kevin Love trade rumors will continue through the summer and reports have the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics making offers to the Minnesota Timberwolves and those could be some of the best over teams like the Golden State Warriors, Kings, Suns and Houston Rockets, as they have players like Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler as well as draft picks from Boston's side and that could make Flip Saunders go for a deal.
Reports from Pro Basketball Talk and ESPN have the Bulls and Celtics looking at a Love trade hard and ESPN.com also reports that the Bulls will go after Carmelo Anthony if they miss out on Love. The Celtics have numerous draft picks to move, while the Bulls have a number of talented players they could put in a deal and that is one reason why they are considered one of the favorites. The report also cites a connection between Saunders and the Celtics that isn't so great and that could be one reason why the Bulls are in it. The report says that the Bulls offer is a better one than what Boston is trying to give and these rumors will continue until Love is traded or a decision is made not to trade him.
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.
The Bulls are a very interesting option for Love, as they have the players to move that could sway the Timberwolves to deal, with names like Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and Tony Snell options along with draft picks. The team also is a near-championship ready roster with Derrick Rose coming back and Joakim Noah already there and if the Bulls miss out on Love, they likely will go after Carmelo Anthony as a free agent target from the Knicks. SI.com reported that the Bulls and the Houston Rockets are the two teams to watch other than the Knicks in the Anthony sweepstakes and if both those teams miss out on big trades for Love or Rajon Rondo, they will go hard at swaying Anthony.
Love has long been expected to opt out of his contract after next season in the summer of 2015 if he remains with the Timberwolves and is not traded and he has not made it clear that he is not signing an extension with the team. Minnesota convinced Love to sign and extension a couple years ago and gave him the opt out to get it done and now the clock is ticking on a trade. According to ESPN.com, Love likes the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors the best for a deal, as they are winning situations with talented rosters. The Timberwolves have so far given no indication about what they will actually do, with owner Glen Taylor saying that the team will not trade Love and other reports from ESPN.com and Pro Basketball Talk reporting that the team is open to listening to offers.
The Rockets come into the offseason after losing in the playoffs and they are looking to make a big move to get another player alongside James Harden and Dwight Howard. The team has moves to make and now the Celtics are in the mix as well after Love visited the city this weekend. The team has a great PG in Rajon Rondo and a great head coach in Brad Stevens and they also have first round picks and young players to make a deal appealing. The team may not end up pulling off the deal, but with a high draft pick this season, the team is in the mix after losing 57 games in 2013-14.
The Timberwolves will have some major questions to consider this offseason, as they have Kevin Love coming into what could be the last year of his contract with his opt out coming next summer in 2015. The Timberwolves likely will wait to see if the team is in contention heading into the trade deadline next season before making any moves with Love, but there's always a chance one team will floor them with a proposal this summer. Love and the Timberwolves are in a similar situation that Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard had with the Nuggets and Magic, as the teams had to weigh whether to trade their stars for something or risk losing them for nothing as free agents.
