The Kevin Love trade rumors just got very intriguing, as the Cleveland Cavaliers have engaged the Minnesota Timberwolves about a potential deal now that LeBron James is coming home and the team has so far not included Andrew Wiggins, while names like Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters could be targets along with first round picks in the future.
The Cavaliers have an energized sense of optimism after James returned home and now the team could get back into the Kevin Love trade talks after they were connected earlier around the draft. According to ESPN.com, Love said that he would consider signing long term with the Cavs after previously not being interested, saying he would be "intrigued" by playing with James and heading to Cleveland. The team would have to give up quite a bit and so far they have kept Wiggins off limits, but players like Anthony Bennett and Dion Waiters are in the mix.
The Timberwolves have been hesitant to trade Love, as they still hope they can re-sign him to an extension or get a better deal later in the season, but a trade from the Cavs might be the best option. Heading into the draft the team was into trade talks with the Golden State Warriors, but those eventually broke down when the team did not want to put Klay Thompson in the deal. Teams like the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers all were interested in making a deal with the Wolves, but now that free agency is playing out, some of those teams are likely not in the mix anymore/ Those teams could come back later in the season, while the Wolves may look at trading Love at the deadline.
James and Love would be an electric combo, as the two ranked in the top five in the league in many statistics last season and the two were also very efficient when they were on the floor. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Love and James ranked in the top five in nearly all advanced stats last season, including in the top three in PER and win shares. The two also ranked third and fourth in points per game and now Cleveland could find a way to match the two up with Kyrie Irving and potentially Andrew Wiggins.
The Cavaliers are reluctant to deal Wiggins, as he has been looked at as a potential star and he was literally just drafted so the team is not looking to give him up. The idea of a Love-James-Irving trio is very intoxicating, but even without a deal, James, Irving and Wiggins is also very strong alongside a player like Thompson and Anderson Varejao. James gives the team a championship pedigree and he could bring the first title to the city in 50 years in all sports.
Irving was just signed to a max contract and now the power in the east has shifted to the central division, as Pau Gasol signed with the Chicago Bulls. The Heat brought back Chris Bosh and likely will bring back Dwyane Wade and they are also looking at signing Luol Deng to a deal and that would make Miami very strong as well even after losing LeBron to Cleveland.
