June 25, 201412 yr ... In terms of realistic moves, what makes the most sense for Kevin Love, his future team, and the Timberwolves (who risk losing him for nothing over the summer and will only see his value decline as midseason approaches and they lose leverage)? The deal can be one-sided in the short term (i.e., a team getting some expiring contracts and a chance to tank and get another high pick the next season), but let's try to be reasonable about what it's going to take in exchange for him in terms of all of the long term goals for the parties. Maybe you need two, maybe you need three teams involved. Either way, let's hear it.
June 25, 201412 yr Author I'll throw out two scenarios, the first one involving just Minnesota and Golden State, and the second one involving a three way deal between Minnesota, Golden State, and Los Angeles. Feel free to critique and/or adjust them because I did them somewhat on the fly. In addition to Los Angeles and Golden State: Boston, Chicago, Phoenix, Cleveland, Houston (Omar Asik and Chandler Parsons), and even Oklahoma City (Ibaka, Lamb, and a future pick) have all been spitballed.
June 25, 201412 yr Author Scenario #1: Timberwolves & Warriors Trade: If the Warriors give up Thompson and a discounted David Lee** in exchange for Love and Kevin Martin, who like Lee, has an awful contract (but unlike Lee's, his isn't up in 2 more years, as he's locked in for 3). That such a deal might not be bad for a Timberwolves team looking to rebuild. They have Thompson to fill seats and Lee could do the same when healthy; regardless, neither alone is good enough to keep them from a high lottery pick the next year in the loaded West. By the time Lee's discounted contract is up in 2 years, they'll have a couple of high picks, his salary off the books, and a backcourt of Rubio and Thompson who've played together for awhile. **I'll hold off on the dynamics of amnesties, cuts, and who might eat the majority of who's contract for now and just say they get the benefit of David Lee and aren't overly burdened by his contract for now so I can illustrate. Again, feel free to adjust this one.
June 25, 201412 yr Kevin Love to the Cavs for the #1 pick, Dion Waiters, and Anderson Varejao. Opens up the flood gates to sign LeBron for the Cavs. Gives Minnesota a solid 5, a decent perimeter scorer, and a future star to build around in either Wiggins or Parker.
June 25, 201412 yr Author Scenario #2: Minnesota, Golden State, and Los Angeles: Continuing with the relevant parts of Scenario #1, maybe a third team like the Lakers getting involved makes the deal go through. I really get the sense that the Lakers love the idea of having Thompson (whose father was a Laker and who currently does color for their broadcasts). Again, the Lakers don't own the rights to their own first rounders in 2015 and 2017 as part of their deals for Nash and Howard, so tanking doesn't really benefit them. Would it be awful if it ended up as such?: Golden State: Kevin Love Kevin Martin Los Angeles: Klay Thompson Harrison Barnes Minnesota: Los Angeles #7 Pick David Lee (favorable contract, expires in 2 years) --Future Draft Pick??? Minnesota would be a loser in that one unless the terms of David Lee's contract were really favorable to them, so maybe it's not the best example, BUT what happens if the Lakers' #7 pick comes up and Joel Embiid is still on the board? Embiid was brought to the States by Luc Richard Mbah-Moute[/b], who currently plays for the Wolves. They sit Embiid for a year to let him get healthy while Lee plays out his contract, and ended up flipping Love, who was going to leave anyway, for Embiid and a realistic shot at yet another high pick in next year's draft to pair him with. A future draft pick from the Warriors, who hope to be contending anyway, could be sweetener. What about deals with an aging Pau Gasol, who isn't really at the top of Kobe's list anyway? Again, feel free to critique these and add to them.
June 25, 201412 yr Has Kevin Love turned into that good of an NBA player? Have you been living under a rock? He's easily one of the top 10, maybe better, in the league.
June 25, 201412 yr Author ^^^^ I don't see Golden State giving up Thompson and Barnes Not arguing with that, but it might not be the worst move if they did, especially if it meant unloading Lee's contract for some cap space. As good as Thompson is, he and Curry don't complement one another as well as many might think. Statheads definitely aren't high on Thompson's efficiency ratings. He'll make shots and defends well enough, but doesn't get to the line very often and either scores right at the rim or on a three pointer, with little variation in between. A pick-and-roll with Curry and Love is lethal. You can pick and roll, pick and pop, whatever you want to do just because you've got the two best shooters at their respective positions going in a two man game. While it'd definitely be nice to keep Barnes, if they're going to chase a title, they are probably better trying to take the savings in cap space to upgrade the PG position and go from there. The lineup the Warriors could end up having in Curry, Blake/Martin, Igodala, Love, and Bogut with Green, O'Neal, Crawford, and Speights coming off the bench is, statistically speaking at the very least, probably going to be more balanced than what you get out of the small-ball lineup with Thompson that they've probably ridden as far as they can take it. As far as what they have now, it just seems like they're going to be stuck in a rut when they have to win 3 straight playoff series against more balanced Western Conference teams just to get to the Finals. In terms of money and the luxury tax, I think Oakland markets in general (the A's, Raiders and the Warriors) are making moves toward venues that elicit money from the Silicon Valley, Alameda County, San Francisco, Santa Clara, type crowds as opposed to their previous markets where revenues had begun to run dry, so payroll might not be as much of a problem as one might think either. Selfishly, I think the Warriors have great fans and that their home arena is one of the few places where it's almost like watching a college game, so I'd like to see them have a good team, but at the same time, I think places like Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago are far more realistic options for Love.
June 25, 201412 yr Selfishly, I think the Warriors have great fans and that their home arena is one of the few places where it's almost like watching a college game, so I'd like to see them have a good team, but at the same time, I think places like Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago are far more realistic options for Love. They're getting ready for a move across the Bay to San Francisco in the next few years. Might change that calculation a little bit.
June 25, 201412 yr Author Kevin Love to the Cavs for the #1 pick, Dion Waiters, and Anderson Varejao. Opens up the flood gates to sign LeBron for the Cavs. Gives Minnesota a solid 5, a decent perimeter scorer, and a future star to build around in either Wiggins or Parker. Trade I heard yesterday on ESPN radio while going to get some KFC (so maybe I was distracted by that taste of Kentucky down in Texas) was Orlando offering the #4, #12, and Arron Afflalo (yes, it's spelled Arron) for Cleveland's #1. I don't know who blinks first if that one is for real. If I'm Cleveland and I have what I already do, plus a chance at LeBron, I think I'd be pretty tempted to take the #4 and #12, snag a Vonleh/Smart at #4 and Saric/Payton/Harris (or even, gulp, Gordon) at #12, pair them with Irving, Afflalo, Deng, Varajeo, Thompson, Hawes (really underrated), Waiters, Bennet, etc. and see how LeBron feels about coming home to that depth.
June 25, 201412 yr Author They're getting ready for a move across the Bay to San Francisco in the next few years. Might change that calculation a little bit. Calculation as to home crowd/home court advantage, revenue/cost of a seat to the game, or realistic options?
June 25, 201412 yr The bulls are either going to sign Melo, LeBron or trade for Love. I would expect the Love trade more.
June 25, 201412 yr The bulls are either going to sign Melo, LeBron or trade for Love. I would expect the Love trade more. I'll be shocked if Melo isn't in Chicago.
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