Love, a six-year veteran and three-time All-Star, has never appeared in a playoff game, much to his chagrin. As the UCLA graduate has morphed into one of the game's top scorers and rebounders, the Wolves have improved gradually but have yet to take the leap. Four consecutive years of improvement would be a great sign for many franchises; an indicator that the tide is turning, that the team is one piece away. But that's not good enough for Love, especially when those four straight improving seasons have yet to propel the Timberwolves above the .500 mark.
The 25-year-old Love wants to win while he is still in his prime, which is understandable. The Wolves, controlled by three different front-office regimes during Love's tenure, have done little to surround their star with the requisite talent. In the five drafts since Love’s acquisition in 2008, the Wolves only selected one player who could be considered game-changing: point guard Ricky Rubio.
Free agent signings have also been unsuccessful. In fairness, very few high-profile athletes have a burning desire to freeze in Minneapolis winters. Nonetheless, the likes of Darko Milicic, Martell Webster, J.J. Barea, Brandon Roy and Alexei Shved, to name a few, haven't armed the Love-centric rosters with enough arsenal to stay competitive.
Wolves fans, as much as they hate to do it, may have to shift their expectations. Love is all but out the door barring some serendipitous ping pong ball sequences in Tuesday's draft lottery.
It's time for Minnesota to get ready for a life sans Love, who has been linked to six different teams in recent reports: the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics. Here is a crash course in what these teams have to offer and what the Wolves could get in return.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS Love and the Lakers have always been linked due to Love's college-playing days at UCLA. If the former Bruin was a free agent, most would peg the storied Lakers as the front-runner to sign him. But at the present moment, the Lakers don't have much to offer except a top-10 lottery pick.
If the Wolves covet players toward the top of this deep draft, Los Angeles may be in an enviable position. Perhaps Flip Saunders would listen if the Lakers could swing a sign-and-trade with Pau Gasol, although that is unlikely.
NEW YORK KNICKS The offseason isn’t going as planned for Phil Jackson's Knicks after being jilted by coaching candidate Steve Kerr. Acquiring Love might go a long ways toward landing a quality coach and retaining free-agent superstar Carmelo Anthony. Unfortunately for Jackson, his cupboard is bare. The roster is packed with bloated, expiring contracts, and to top it off, the Knicks have no first-round pick. Ironically, they lost it trading for Carmelo Anthony, who may now walk away from a $23.5 million option to escape New York.
CHICAGO BULLS A franchise that once looked like a title contender for years to come is now trying to find some insurance in case Derrick Rose's knees continue to trouble him. Assuming Joakim Noah is off limits, the Bulls don't have much to offer in terms of players beyond Taj Gibson, who is signed through 2017 at about $8.5 million per season. To make a trade legal in terms of matching salary, Chicago would also need to toss in Jimmy Butler, Tony Snell and Mike Dunleavy, none of whom are guaranteed beyond this coming season (though Butler has a qualifying offer and Snell has a team option). The real value would come in the form of draft picks. Chicago has two first-rounders – theirs and Charlotte's – but both are non-lottery.
A package consisting of Gibson, several role players and a late-first-round draft pick may not be impactful enough for the Wolves to pull the trigger.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS This is another team that ostensibly intrigues Love. He could team up with sharp-shooters Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to form "The Wolves Team That Shoulda Been" since GM David Kahn passed on both Curry and Thompson in the draft.
The Warriors have players to offer but no draft picks in either round. The Jazz own the Warriors' first-round pick, and the Wolves received Golden State's second-rounder from the Malcolm Lee trade last summer. More importantly, the Warriors could not legally include a 2015 first-round pick in any deal because of the Stepien Rule, which prohibits teams from trading a first-round pick in consecutive years.
The Warriors could offer David Lee, whose salary matches up, but Lee for Love may not satiate an already-frustrated fan base. Draymond Green is a versatile role player who would be coveted but is likely off the table. Most realistic would be Andre Iguodala (still just 30 years old) coupled with Thompson or third-year player Harrison Barnes.
The Wolves could get veteran leadership from Iguodala and a shooting boost from Thompson. The draft pick situation may be a deal-breaker, though.
PHOENIX SUNS The surprising 48-win Suns may have enough ammo to pull a shocker and deal for Love. In addition to intriguing role players Markieff and Marcus Morris, Miles Plumlee, Alex Len and Gerald Green, the Suns have at least three first-round draft picks to toy with, and GM Ryan McDonough says that his team intends to do some dealing.
Their potential fourth first-round pick directly involves the Wolves. Phoenix is the only squad behind Minnesota in the current lottery order. Minnesota is No. 13, and Phoenix is No. 14. In the infinitesimal possibility that Phoenix jumps into the top-three and the Wolves do not, the Suns not only acquire a top-three stud, but they also steal the Wolves’ first-round pick, which is top-13 protected.
Either way, Phoenix has assets. What they lack is a star. If the Wolves are interested in stockpiling picks, the Suns would be a willing trade partner.
BOSTON CELTICS According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Boston intends to go hard after Love. While the thought of giving the Celtics another franchise player named "Kevin" seems unbearable, it might make the most sense. For one, the Celtics are in a different conference and couldn't haunt the Wolves like Phoenix or Golden State could. Second, the Celtics have more picks over the next five years than they know what to do with, including two first-rounders in June’s draft. Third, Boston has some talent to offer in the form of Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger along with veterans Jeff Green and Gerald Wallace.
Even though the Wolves' last mega-trade with Boston didn't work out that well, it seems like a feasible option this time around.
Time will tell. And so will Tuesday's ping pong balls.
| Sam Ekstrom is a staff writer for Cold Omaha at 105 The Ticket. He has previously served as a play-by-play broadcaster in Iowa and South Dakota and has covered Minnesota sports since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @SamEkstrom for further insights |