The Cleveland Cavaliers have picked back up on the Kevin Love trade talks and an Andrew Wiggins trade could be part of the mix now, as ESPN reports that LeBron James has expressed his desire to Love for the two to play together and that may get the cavs to relent and decide to trade the number 1 pick in the 2014 draft to the Minnesota Timberwolves this summer.
According to ESPN.com and Pro basketball Talk, James has expressed his feelings about playing with Love and that is one potential reason why the Cavaliers may think about trading Wiggins. The Cavaliers at first offered Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters and first round picks in the future to the Timberwolves to get a deal done, but the Wolves did not accept that and wanted Wiggins. The Cavaliers pursuit comes as the Warriors also were in talks with the Wolves and that deal was hung up on Klay Thompson, as Golden State did not want to trade him away.
Now that LeBron James is signed back home Wiggins could be on his way out after being off limits and he could be involved in the trade along with Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters or other players. Love said he would leave Minnesota and commit to the Cavs if a deal went down, which of course would leave the Lakers and Knicks without the chance to get Love in 2015. ESPN reporter Marc Stein writes that the Cavaliers possibly are thinking about going for a title this year with LeBron while he is still in his prime years and that is what is sparking the trade news as well.
James made his return to Cleveland last week and while he expressed his excitement about playing with Kyrie Irving and bringing a title home, the letter James wrote on SI.com had no mention of Wiggins. Love is the top trade target in the league and earlier in the offseason teams like the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, LA Lakers and Sacramento Kings were mentioned as possible destinations and now it looks to be down to the Cavs or Warriors. Owner GLen Taylor has expressed his desire to keep Love, but the team knows he wants to hit the market and now things are entering carmelo Anthony-Dwight Howard territory and the team could go the way of the Nuggets or Magic.
Wiggins has been playing well in the NBA summer league and while that is not a complete reason to trade for someone, he has looked much better than Bennett did last season. Wiggins is just 19 years old and has the potential to be a star player, but the Cavaliers may have bigger things in mind and if they add Kevin Love, the team would have a Big 3 with James and Kyrie Irving. The roster would also be much better than any team James took to the playoffs years before in Ohio, with players like Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson, Mike Miller and Irving.
The NBA trade rumor season is heating up as free agency moves along and names like Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, Klay Thompson, LaMarcus Aldridge and Ricky Rubio could be potential targets for teams this summer for the Warriors, Celtics and Timberwolves.
