The Cleveland Cavaliers continue to work out the perfect trade for Kevin Love. The team has plenty of options on how to go about acquiring the forward, one of which involves a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. It looks pretty clear that Love will be dealt to Cleveland in the coming month, but the players involved remains a mystery. With Philadelphia looking for tradable assets, who gets sent where?
For the better part of a year, Dion Waiters has heard his name tossed around in several trade rumors and yet he still remains on the roster. Waiters was one of the lone bright spots for the Cavaliers last season and even earned the praise of LeBron James in his infamous "I'm Coming Home" letter announcing his free agency decision. However, it looked like Waiters was going to be involved in the Love trade package, but now that might not be the case.
ESPN.com originally reported that, in a three-team trade, Waiters would be sent to the Philadelphia 76ers while they send Thaddeus Young to Minnesota. However, NBA insider Brian Windhorst went on ESPN radio to report that it appears Anthony Bennett could be the player headed to Philadelphia over Waiters.
"Essentially, before the papers have been signed, there is this handshake agreement that Kevin Love to the Cavs, Andrew Wiggins to the Timberwolves, and I believe, Thaddeus Young will end up in Minnesota, either as part of a separate deal or apart of the three-way deal," Windhorst said, via ESPN.com. "Possibly, Anthony Bennett, who's on the Cavs right now, could get re-routed to Philadelphia in part of the deal with Thaddeus Young. There will be draft picks involved, but essentially, what you need to know if you're a NBA fan: Kevin Love's going to be on the Cavs barring anything unforeseen and Andrew Wiggins, the number one overall pick, is going to be in Minnesota."
Bennett was relatively disappointing in his rookie season despite being the No. 1 overall draft pick to Cleveland. He is expendable whereas Waiters is a sure-fire deal. Recently, Waiters expressed his desire to be a starter for the team. He works well next to point guard Kyrie Irving and can be a huge scoring threat for the Cavaliers.
Adding in Wiggins is no surprise either. Originally, Cleveland did not want to include this year's top pick in the deal, but pressure from the Timberwolves has made the Cavaliers cave on that idea. The risk with including Wiggins is whether or not Love will sign an extension with Cleveland in 2015 when he enters free agency. If Love heads elsewhere in a year, the Cavaliers will have lost one of the potential best young players in the league. It appears to be a risk the team is willing to take if it betters their chances at a championship.
