The Cleveland Cavaliers are the last team standing in the Kevin Love trade talks according to ESPN and now the two sides must wait until later in August so that Andrew Wiggins can be part of the deal and he is expected to be traded with Anthony Bennett to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Thaddeus Young may also be part of this deal from the 76ers.
According to ESPN.com and Pro Basketball Talk, the Cavs are the winners of the Love sweepstakes ahead of the Chicago Bulls, as the Timberwolves see Wiggins as a player with a ton of potential and they feel this is the best deal they will get for him. Love has developed into one of the best players in the league and e is coming off of one if his best seasons after averaging 25 points and 12 rebounds and he is considered the top trade target in the league.
The Cavaliers were not serious players for Love, but then LeBron James made his return home and that changed everything. The Cavs originally offered Anthony Bennett and Dion Waiters to the Timberwolves along with a first round pick and that was rejected, with Wiggins being the main target. The Cavaliers eventually relented and the team has also acquired players with non-guaranteed contracts to help give Minnesota cap relief when the deal goes through.
Minnesota is also hoping to deal Kevin Martin and JJ Barea and that means it may have to turn into a three way deal. The 76ers have Thaddeus Young and tons of cap space and that could be an option for the deal between the Cavaliers and the Timberwolves. The Sixers are not sure they will trade Young, as he is a solid player with a decent contract and he has a player option for next season and they likely will try and get a draft pick out of all if this if they do trade him.
The Golden State Warriors previously were in on talks, but the team did not want to put Klay Thompson in the deal and that was a deal breaker for Minnesota. The Warriors offered David Lee and Harrison Barnes along with likely a draft pick, but that did not trump the deal from the Cavaliers and Cleveland may have played both teams against each other to drive the price up on Love. The move worked since the Cavs ended up adding Wiggins and now the details of the deal need to be worked out.
Love will shift the power in the NBA and now that the Cavs appear to have the inside track, they have beaten out their division rivals in the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls had a solid deal with Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson along with possibly Nikola Mirotic, but that wasn't enough for the Timberwolves to take in a deal compared with Wiggins and Bennett. The Cavaliers have Kyrie Irving back on a max deal and he joins LeBron James and getting Love makes the team the clear contenders in the east and a championship favorite and he has played with LeBron already in international basketball.
