The Kevin Love trade talks are continuing with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls still front runners and now the Minnesota Timberwolves have targeted Thaddeus Young with the Philadelphia 76ers as a potential replacement for Love and a three team deal or a separate trade could go down with the Sixers to get him to the Wolves.
According to ESPN.com, the Timberwolves are still planning on trading Love and they see Young as a solid option to replace him, as he is a good rebounder and under team control for multiple years. The Wolves are still looking to offload contracts with JJ Barea and Kevin Martin and right now the Cavaliers deal with Andrew Wiggins remains the favorite for the trade. Young is looked at as an option to come in and replace Love for the Wolves and that could be what helps get the main deal through since the Timberwolves are hoping to compete a bit despite trading Love.
The Cavaliers started off in more serious talks with Minnesota after LeBron James made his choice to come back to Cleveland and now they are deep into negotiations with the Timberwolves about making the deal for Love. The team originally did not want to put Wiggins in the deal, instead offering a package with Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters and a first round pick to Minnesota.
The Wolves wanted Wiggins and drove the price up on Love using the Golden State Warriors to help push and now the Cavs have offered Wiggins. The package from Cleveland has Bennett, Wiggins and a first round pick and it likely will also include players the Cavaliers acquired from Utah with nonguaranteed contracts to help Minnesota clear cap space. The Cavs see this as a move to make the team into championship contenders and a big 3 of LeBron, Kyrie Irving and Love would be hard to beat.
The Bulls jumped in as well and with Wiggins not allowed to be traded for 30 days, Chicago or another team could try to make an offer to snatch Love. Chicago is offering a package with Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic, but right now Cleveland is still considered to be the favorites for the deal.
The Golden State Warriors were the first team to get into deep negotiations with the Timberwolves and that came near the NBA draft. The Warriors did not want to offer Klay Thompson, instead putting in a package with David Lee and Harrison Barnes along with a draft pick. The Wolves reportedly like Thompson the best of any of the players in the mix to be traded, but the Golden State Warriors are unwilling to offer him in the deal.
Even the Knicks got in on the action last week, with Phil Jackson making an offer to Minnesota that he knew would be rejected. Jackson was simply doing his due diligence, as Love mentioned New York as a potential destination earlier in the offseason and even though it had no chance of going through, it couldn't hurt to at least try. Love remains the top trade target on the market and he has developed into a consistent player, averaging a double-double last season and now he is looking to make the playoffs for the first time after missing in Minnesota for six years.
