Whenever a team decides the time has come to trade its star player, they are always going to
hold out for the best possible deal. They will inform the world of their intentions, in order to
provoke a bidding war among contending teams. This is precisely what the Minnesota Timberwolves have done, in the process of shopping Kevin Love, but not only has the story gotten stale but it may ultimately become counterproductive for the franchise.
This story has been hyped up beyond all reason now, but one thing must be remembered during
all of this: Kevin Love is not a superstar. Lebron James is a superstar, Kevin Durant is a superstar
but Kevin Love is merely a star. Thats not to criticize the guy, he is an amazing player that any
team would want, but he isn't in the very top echelon of the league. So why has the story been
hyped up so much?
Well, its because there isn't a lot going on right now, there are still column inches to fill (and yes I
know I'm a massive hypocrite here) and hours of radio and TV time to kill. Joel Embiid breaking his
foot, just before the draft, is of note but nothing special. Lebron has opted out of his deal in Miami, no surprise there. The same goes for Melo in New York. Rudy Gay has opted in to the final year of his deal with Sacramento, for $19.3 million. Nobody can blame him for taking the money, because he sure as hell wouldn't be getting anywhere near that kind of money elsewhere right now, but it does bring into question whether he is really serious about winning a ring anytime soon. Yet none of these stories quite cut it compared to some good old fashioned trade rumors.
As with all potential blockbuster trades, the rumors vary from possible to absolutely ridiculous, but this story seems to have lasted so long that it has meandered between the two without missing a beat. Firstly it appeared that the Celtics were the frontrunners, because Love was seen in Boston and shockingly he was pictured shaking hands with a fellow NBA professional! That picture with Rajon Rondo and the hype it provoked were ironic really given that Rondo is the only real asset the C's have to trade for Love. Which made this a non-starter to begin with, as the reason the Celtics were trying to get Love was to ensure Rondo would sign a new contract, when his currently deal finishes, at the end of next season.
Then there were, the now seemingly defunct, trade negotiations with the Golden State Warriors, centred around Klay Thompson. Which was interesting for one reason, it revealed a lot about some people's view on the 3rd year guard out of Washington State University. Some seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that Klay Thompson is some mixture of Lebron James and Jesus (well that might be a bit over the top, but you get the idea). He is a fine young player with a great deal of potential, but he is no superstar and likely never will be, so why should the 'Wolves just jump at the chance? The answer is, they shouldn't and seemingly they won't.
Most intriguingly of all, from a personal perspective, was the mooted deal with the Denver Nuggets involving Kenneth Faried. On the face of things, the deal would seem to work for Minnesota. In Faried they would be getting a fine replacement for Love at the 4 and would surely relish the Faried/Pekovic front court combo. The Nuggets also have some interesting smaller role players that could add value to the deal. However the stumbling block with this deal as with the others is that Minnesota seemingly want a little too much.
Understandably, after such a bad run in the last few years, the Timberwolves want to win now,
with or without Love. In this deal they want to get back players that can help them win now, but
they also want really good draft picks now and possibly in the future. They want to have their cake aswell as eating it, but in doing so they take something of a risk. They could end up driving away many teams, leaving them vulnerable to having to take a subpar last minute deal or being
lumbered with an angry and disgruntled star. Either of these possibilities would be damaging to the long term future of the franchise as it would cement the impression that Minnesota is the place where potential goes to die.
Kevin Love must be all too aware that Kevin Garnett slogged his guts out for years with them and only found success once he left. So it's extra stupid of returning head coach Flip Saunders to
compare the current Love situation to that of Garnett in 2007, if he is serious about wanting to
keep his star power forward on the roster for next season.
Ultimately, whatever happens next and wherever Kevin Love ends up, I hope its resolved soon
because, quite frankly, I'm bored with this story now. I want the NBA world to move on to more
interesting things and I want the man himself to be on a team where he can compete, because he
deserves his opportunity.
Most importantly of all, however, I want the NBA back, its only been gone a week and half and I
miss it already. Even with the impending draft and the potentially huge free agency summer that lies ahead, nothing beats actual basketball. I really can't wait for October 28th, bring it on!
Written By: Kevin Logan @kflogan
hold out for the best possible deal. They will inform the world of their intentions, in order to
provoke a bidding war among contending teams. This is precisely what the Minnesota Timberwolves have done, in the process of shopping Kevin Love, but not only has the story gotten stale but it may ultimately become counterproductive for the franchise.
This story has been hyped up beyond all reason now, but one thing must be remembered during
all of this: Kevin Love is not a superstar. Lebron James is a superstar, Kevin Durant is a superstar
but Kevin Love is merely a star. Thats not to criticize the guy, he is an amazing player that any
team would want, but he isn't in the very top echelon of the league. So why has the story been
hyped up so much?
Well, its because there isn't a lot going on right now, there are still column inches to fill (and yes I
know I'm a massive hypocrite here) and hours of radio and TV time to kill. Joel Embiid breaking his
foot, just before the draft, is of note but nothing special. Lebron has opted out of his deal in Miami, no surprise there. The same goes for Melo in New York. Rudy Gay has opted in to the final year of his deal with Sacramento, for $19.3 million. Nobody can blame him for taking the money, because he sure as hell wouldn't be getting anywhere near that kind of money elsewhere right now, but it does bring into question whether he is really serious about winning a ring anytime soon. Yet none of these stories quite cut it compared to some good old fashioned trade rumors.
As with all potential blockbuster trades, the rumors vary from possible to absolutely ridiculous, but this story seems to have lasted so long that it has meandered between the two without missing a beat. Firstly it appeared that the Celtics were the frontrunners, because Love was seen in Boston and shockingly he was pictured shaking hands with a fellow NBA professional! That picture with Rajon Rondo and the hype it provoked were ironic really given that Rondo is the only real asset the C's have to trade for Love. Which made this a non-starter to begin with, as the reason the Celtics were trying to get Love was to ensure Rondo would sign a new contract, when his currently deal finishes, at the end of next season.
Then there were, the now seemingly defunct, trade negotiations with the Golden State Warriors, centred around Klay Thompson. Which was interesting for one reason, it revealed a lot about some people's view on the 3rd year guard out of Washington State University. Some seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that Klay Thompson is some mixture of Lebron James and Jesus (well that might be a bit over the top, but you get the idea). He is a fine young player with a great deal of potential, but he is no superstar and likely never will be, so why should the 'Wolves just jump at the chance? The answer is, they shouldn't and seemingly they won't.
Most intriguingly of all, from a personal perspective, was the mooted deal with the Denver Nuggets involving Kenneth Faried. On the face of things, the deal would seem to work for Minnesota. In Faried they would be getting a fine replacement for Love at the 4 and would surely relish the Faried/Pekovic front court combo. The Nuggets also have some interesting smaller role players that could add value to the deal. However the stumbling block with this deal as with the others is that Minnesota seemingly want a little too much.
Understandably, after such a bad run in the last few years, the Timberwolves want to win now,
with or without Love. In this deal they want to get back players that can help them win now, but
they also want really good draft picks now and possibly in the future. They want to have their cake aswell as eating it, but in doing so they take something of a risk. They could end up driving away many teams, leaving them vulnerable to having to take a subpar last minute deal or being
lumbered with an angry and disgruntled star. Either of these possibilities would be damaging to the long term future of the franchise as it would cement the impression that Minnesota is the place where potential goes to die.
Kevin Love must be all too aware that Kevin Garnett slogged his guts out for years with them and only found success once he left. So it's extra stupid of returning head coach Flip Saunders to
compare the current Love situation to that of Garnett in 2007, if he is serious about wanting to
keep his star power forward on the roster for next season.
Ultimately, whatever happens next and wherever Kevin Love ends up, I hope its resolved soon
because, quite frankly, I'm bored with this story now. I want the NBA world to move on to more
interesting things and I want the man himself to be on a team where he can compete, because he
deserves his opportunity.
Most importantly of all, however, I want the NBA back, its only been gone a week and half and I
miss it already. Even with the impending draft and the potentially huge free agency summer that lies ahead, nothing beats actual basketball. I really can't wait for October 28th, bring it on!
Written By: Kevin Logan @kflogan