Kevin Love Free Agency/Trade Thread

[horaceworthy]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ryenarussillo/status/468529566915768320[/tweet]

Anyone remember this? Could have had Al Jefferson and the #5 pick, then Boston went ahead and traded the #5 pick for Allen and Boston still had the best package left over.

I thought there was an Al Jefferson/#5 deal agreed to and then KG nixed it because he wasn't sure about the Celtics. Then they traded for Allen and KG had a chance to talk to Billups about what it was like to play in Boston and that changed his mind.

[Dewey]

I fully believe that if we make the right moves this off-season and become a playoff team, Love will re-sign

Once wee see the ping pong balls, Flip will be working the lines to make a deal IMO ... I gotta think they will go after a high pick and establish layer to go along with Rube, Pek, Bazz, Dieng. With the minimal chance we bouced into the #3, the Love trade talks would be off and we move on and with same core.

[theGreatRC]

I think Flip will do everything he can to keep Love and make this a competitive roster than to make a Love trade a priority. A smart businessman will try to secure his best investments.

Draft day, I expect us to be a very noisey team.

[AQuintus]

I think Flip will do everything he can to keep Love and make this a competitive roster than to make a Love trade a priority. A smart businessman will try to secure his best investments.

Draft day, I expect us to be a very noisey team.

A smart business also knows when to sell high.

Edit:

Personally, if I'm Flip Saunders, I ask Love on draft night if he's going to re-sign. If Love's answer is anything other than a firm, unequivocal YES!, then I trade him. I don't think he can extend this off-season, but if he can and refuses to do so by draft night, then I trade him.

At this point, we're all just kind of taking for granted that if we make the playoffs, then Love will return. That could easily not be the case. If we make the playoffs but get swept in the 1st round, Love could still easily walk. If we make the playoffs and get to the 2nd or even 3rd round, Love could still easily walk. He might pick up his option, but that would just extend "the will he? won't he?" crap even longer. The only way to get close to a guarantee that Love sticks around is by winning it all, and that's not too likely.

[BullsFTW]

Late to the party, but would Boozer + Mirotic + 16th & 19th Picks entice the Wolves? Assuming Mirotic is willing to come over and play with Rubio & Pekovic.

Boozer??? his $16.8 million contract is a bit of a negative.
If the deal doesn't have Taj Gibson and Mirotic in it, i can't imagine Flip being interested. You guys are going to have to amnesty Boozer.

It's a $16.8M expiring deal

[AQuintus]

It's a $16.8M expiring deal

Expirings have very overrated value. An expiring is worth less than straight cap space, and straight cap space is only worth anything if you can use it to sign someone. At best, you can use an expiring to trade for someone that's useful on the court but is worth less than an expiring.

[theGreatRC]

I think Flip will do everything he can to keep Love and make this a competitive roster than to make a Love trade a priority. A smart businessman will try to secure his best investments.

Draft day, I expect us to be a very noisey team.

A smart business also knows when to sell high.

Edit:

Personally, if I'm Flip Saunders, I ask Love on draft night if he's going to re-sign. If Love's answer is anything other than a firm, unequivocal YES!, then I trade him. I don't think he can extend this off-season, but if he can and refuses to do so by draft night, then I trade him.

At this point, we're all just kind of taking for granted that if we make the playoffs, then Love will return. That could easily not be the case. If we make the playoffs but get swept in the 1st round, Love could still easily walk. If we make the playoffs and get to the 2nd or even 3rd round, Love could still easily walk. He might pick up his option, but that would just extend "the will he? won't he?" crap even longer. The only way to get close to a guarantee that Love sticks around is by winning it all, and that's not too likely.

I heard we can talk extensions starting in January. If our record has us projected to be in the playoff race, maybe Love will change his stance on leaving? Even then, it'll still be January, early in the season and we can still sell him to a team and get some assets back.

I do agree with you though, this is a pretty talented draft in the top 5, if Love says hell no to re-signing, we flip him on draft day for a top 5 pick and don't look back.

[Note30]

I like a lot of the Bulls deal too, but I personally think the best value the Wolves get out of it would be
Gibson Butler #16 Sac 2016 Bulls 2016 and Coach Thibs
Its a hell of a stretch but if it flew we would have some good pieces in Butler and Gibson and a new coach.

Rubio / #13
Brewer / Kevin Martin
Butler / Shabazz
Dieng / Gibson
Pekovic / Turiaf

Coach Thibs = Chicago in Minnesota esentially without an injury prone PG and C, o wait.

[HiRez]

Why are you guys wasting time talking about offers from bad teams? The whole reason Love wants out is he wants to go to a contender, and lots of these teams you are mentioning are not contenders, not by adding Love and certainly not by subtracting whatever assets get the deal done. That includes Cleveland and Boston. Probably also NY, Atlanta, and even LA Lakers. Chicago is a pretty iffy destination with Rose's health and Thibodeau rumored to be looking for an exit.

Love is unlikely to sign an extension with those teams and, knowing that, they are unlikely to trade assets for a one-year rental. Love is good but he's not taking a bad to mediocre team into the elite all by himself. Assuming Love is serious about going to a contender, you have to ask yourselves which teams are only one piece away from a championship and there just aren't that many of them.

[AQuintus]

Why are you guys wasting time talking about offers from bad teams? The whole reason Love wants out is he wants to go to a contender, and lots of these teams you are mentioning are not contenders, not by adding Love and certainly not by subtracting whatever assets get the deal done. That includes Cleveland and Boston. Probably also NY, Atlanta, and even LA Lakers. Chicago is a pretty iffy destination with Rose's health and Thibodeau rumored to be looking for an exit.

Love is unlikely to sign an extension with those teams and, knowing that, they are unlikely to trade assets for a one-year rental. Love is good but he's not taking a bad to mediocre team into the elite all by himself. Assuming Love is serious about going to a contender, you have to ask yourselves which teams are only one piece away from a championship and there just aren't that many of them.

I could tell just from this post that you're a Golden State fan.

"Love would never sign with one of those other teams that are offering more than us, so obviously they wouldn't offer more than us, and you have to take our crap offer."

[HiRez]

Why are you guys wasting time talking about offers from bad teams? The whole reason Love wants out is he wants to go to a contender, and lots of these teams you are mentioning are not contenders, not by adding Love and certainly not by subtracting whatever assets get the deal done. That includes Cleveland and Boston. Probably also NY, Atlanta, and even LA Lakers. Chicago is a pretty iffy destination with Rose's health and Thibodeau rumored to be looking for an exit.

Love is unlikely to sign an extension with those teams and, knowing that, they are unlikely to trade assets for a one-year rental. Love is good but he's not taking a bad to mediocre team into the elite all by himself. Assuming Love is serious about going to a contender, you have to ask yourselves which teams are only one piece away from a championship and there just aren't that many of them.

I could tell just from this post that you're a Golden State fan.

"Love would never sign with one of those other teams that are offering more than us, so obviously they wouldn't offer more than us, and you have to take our crap offer."

I am, but I still think GSW has only a small chance to get him. Besides which, no one on the forums makes decisions, so there's no point for me to coerce you into an offer here.

But you did not offer anything to refute my claim: why would Kevin Love agree to a crappy team like Boston or Cleveland? He is not winning a championship in those places any more than he is in Minnesota. Sure, technically, Minnesota can trade him anywhere they want, but after he makes it clear he won't re-sign with those teams, do you really think they will give up significant assets for one year of a disgruntled Kevin Love? There are other teams who do have assets and maybe are one piece away from contention, such as Houston for example.

My point is dreaming up scenarios for Cleveland and Boston is probably just wasted time, those aren't unlikely scenarios if you look at it from Love's perspective, which you should be doing.

[Mattya]

Why are you guys wasting time talking about offers from bad teams? The whole reason Love wants out is he wants to go to a contender, and lots of these teams you are mentioning are not contenders, not by adding Love and certainly not by subtracting whatever assets get the deal done. That includes Cleveland and Boston. Probably also NY, Atlanta, and even LA Lakers. Chicago is a pretty iffy destination with Rose's health and Thibodeau rumored to be looking for an exit.

Love is unlikely to sign an extension with those teams and, knowing that, they are unlikely to trade assets for a one-year rental. Love is good but he's not taking a bad to mediocre team into the elite all by himself. Assuming Love is serious about going to a contender, you have to ask yourselves which teams are only one piece away from a championship and there just aren't that many of them.

I could tell just from this post that you're a Golden State fan.

"Love would never sign with one of those other teams that are offering more than us, so obviously they wouldn't offer more than us, and you have to take our crap offer."

I am, but I still think GSW has only a small chance to get him. Besides which, no one on the forums makes decisions, so there's no point for me to coerce you into an offer here.

But you did not offer anything to refute my claim: why would Kevin Love agree to a crappy team like Boston or Cleveland? He is not winning a championship in those places any more than he is in Minnesota. Sure, technically, Minnesota can trade him anywhere they want, but after he makes it clear he won't re-sign with those teams, do you really think they will give up significant assets for one year of a disgruntled Kevin Love? There are other teams who do have assets and maybe are one piece away from contention, such as Houston for example.

My point is dreaming up scenarios for Cleveland and Boston is probably just wasted time, those aren't unlikely scenarios if you look at it from Love's perspective, which you should be doing.

What's the difference between getting outed in the first or second round with the Warriors or the first or second round with the Celtics?

[AQuintus]

But you did not offer anything to refute my claim: why would Kevin Love agree to a crappy team like Boston or Cleveland?

It doesn't matter. The team will do what is best for the team, not necessarily what's best for Kevin Love. You can say that Love refusing to re-sign will drop his trade value, but you don't know that.

As far as the teams being crappy- GS is playoff team even without Love, Chicago is a playoff team even without Love, Boston would easily be a playoff team with Love. New York is a big market and so is L.A.

Obviously he's not going to get to one of the legit contenders (Pacers, Heat, SA, OKC (maybe)) in either a trade or in Free Agency so he'll have to settle for one of those "crappy teams." What makes you think he wouldn't re-sign with one of them if they get to the playoffs with him (which is what he's repeatedly said is all he wants)?

Playing the whole "He won't re-sign so his value is shot. Here's a crappy offer" game is a waste of everybody's time.

[dakomish23]

Not sure ur getting an Ibaka level defender back in any deal. So cancel Noah in the CHI possibilities. The pt would be to pair a his offensive prowess with a defensive stud.

[AQuintus]

What's the difference between getting outed in the first or second round with the Warriors or the first or second round with the Celtics?

This. And just by virtue of being in the Eastern Conference, he has a higher chance of winning a title than he would with the Warriors, or Suns, or Rockets, etc..

[AQuintus]

Not sure ur getting an Ibaka level defender back in any deal. So cancel Noah in the CHI possibilities. The pt would be to pair a his offensive prowess with a defensive stud.

1) It's a possibility that we could get Ibaka himself back.
2) No one's demanding Noah

Most of us would be happy with one of:

Sullinger + 5 (or higher ) + extras (my favorite)

Or

Top 3 pick from LA

Or

Mirotic + Gibson + picks

Or

Lee + Thompson + Barnes (Not a fan of this one at all)

None of those deals involve an "Ibaka level defender" coming back.

[bondom34]

Hey guys, just wanted to drop in (I know a few of you from the trade board) to say you've all been really cool w/ this situation, and are a great fanbase. Sorry this is happening to you all, but wish you the best and hope you get a great deal from it.

[Peezo]

Question from an outsider looking in:

Most T'Wolves fans seem to agree that a Love-Pekovic front court just doesn't really work, right? If Love were with a defensive C, it would be great, or if Pekovic were with a defensive PF, it would be great, but together, it just isn't really that conducive to winning, am I correct?

So then why would getting Jared Sullinger back in a trade with Boston be attractive to you guys? I understand wanting their top 6 pick, but I feel like Sullinger is just as bad a fit with Pekovic as Love while being far less talented.

As an outsider looking in, I feel like I'd rather try to pry Barnes and Thompson from Golden State, Butler, Mirotic, Gibson, and 1st round picks from Chicago, or Len and a bunch of 1st round picks from Phoenix if I were a Wolves fan.

Hey Machu, not sure if anyone answered but I'll take a shot at it. Your question is fair and there is that concern. One of the main reasons people don't like the Love/Pek pairing is that they don't provide any rim protection (I'd add in that both are not great help defenders either). So for this reason we see them as a poor fit, and yes, Sullinger would probably present the same problem. However we also have a backup center in Gorgui Dieng who showed a lot of promise as providing that other element our frontcourt rotation was missing. I think many people see Love/Dieng as a better fit. The problem comes in with Pek making 15mil a year. But those are FO problems and so we will see how it plays out. We also know that teams seemed a lot more concerned with offensive pairings that defensive compatibility. That is my take anyways.

[Note30]

I think it helps that us Wolves fans have been hearing about Love being traded as a possible scenario for a long time. Now that the FO themselves are looking at options it is easier for us having been conditioned for so long LOL. But in all honesty, just speaking for myself, I haven't seen this team meshing well at all defensively and in the clutch. I think so long as we can move forward and in a playoff direction we will have a more positive attitude haha.

Hey guys, just wanted to drop in (I know a few of you from the trade board) to say you've all been really cool w/ this situation, and are a great fanbase. Sorry this is happening to you all, but wish you the best and hope you get a great deal from it.

[GopherIt!]

Glen Taylor needs to fire himself.