The Kevin Love trade rumors are now centered on the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls heading into the back stretch of the summer and while the Houston Rockets could jump in, they likely will not and now the Philadelphia 76ers could be involved, as the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking at Thaddeus Young as a trade target to replace Kevin Love and that could make it a three-team trade or the Wolves could explore a side deal for him.
The Timberwolves are looking at deals from the Bulls and the Cavaliers this summer for Love and Cleveland right now is considered the front runners because they are offering Andrew Wiggins. According to ESPN.com, Minnesota is looking at 76ers forward Thaddeus Young as a potential replacement for Love if they trade him, as he is an athletic big that can play on both ends of the floor. Love pulled out of playing USA Basketball this summer to avoid injury because of all the trade talk and the deal may go through once the Cavaliers are permitted to trade Wiggins.
The Cavaliers signed Wiggins and cannot trade him for 30 days and that makes the earliest date he can be traded near the end of August and that means three more weeks of speculation. The Cavaliers originally did not want to put Wiggins in the deal for Love, instead offering Dion Waiters and Anthony Bennett, but the Wolves held tight and now he reportedly is part of the package. The Cavs have offered Bennett, Wiggins and a future first round pick for Love and the Timberwolves are also hoping to offload some salary in the deal.
According to ESPN.com, the Wolves are looking to deal JJ Barea, Kevin Martin and/or Alexey Shved to help shed some salary and they are also looking for some non-guaranteed contracts from the Cavaliers. Cleveland pulled off a trade to get some players from Utah to flip to the Wolves and that adds one part of the deal for the team and now the Wolves may look at the Sixers as a partner to get Young. The trade could become a three team deal, or the Wolves could go after Young in a separate deal.
The Sixers may not want to give up Young so easily, as he is not too expensive with two years left on gis deal and he also has a player option as part of that deal. Young was mentioned as a trade target last year at the deadline, but the team opted to move Spencer Hawes instead. The Bulls remain in the mix for Love, but their package is considered to be second to the Cavaliers, as they are offering Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic along with Taj Gibson. The Bulls also have to wait a month after signing their rookies to deals.
