Kevin Love .. maybe on the Block?!?

[shrink]

A little background chatter dtj at RubeChat brought over from Canis Hoopus.

Interesting stuff:

I brought this up in the 2nd Hawks game thread how I heard (off the record) that Kahn "hates Love...trust me" and then today I heard from someone who knows that they would "guarantee Love is traded by July". In the same thread there was a transcription of a Canis Hoopus chat (I think that's who it was.) where they talked about Kahn envisioning an athletic 4/5 going forward and having Webster/Johnson/Beasley out on the wing.

Whether Love is traded for that 4/5 or traded to get the pick that allows them to get that 4/5 remains to be seen I get. But I've heard from 3 different places now that Love is highly likely to be moved. So this may be a topic worth debating.

Beefcake wrote:
Some pretty spirited debate in the chat under that story... and some ominous sounding stuff regarding the future of Love with the Wolves, if SnP and Oceanary are to be believed...


I don’t know..
…I can tell you that I have a fairly good guess as to how the FO wants to deal with the issue. I think Kahn wants Beasley at the 4 long term on this team.by Stop-n-Pop on Nov 14, 2010 4:42 PM CST up reply

If you’re right, and they trade Love...
breaking up this emerging Love/Beasley tandem…

No. Let’s just not go there.
by LoveTo on Nov 14, 2010 4:43 PM CST up reply

How funny would it be..
…..if Kahn’s long/athletic dream ends up in Love/Jefferson territory?
by Stop-n-Pop on Nov 14, 2010 4:49 PM CST up reply

What do you mean by that?
Comparing Love/Beasley to Love/Jefferson?
by LoveTo on Nov 14, 2010 5:06 PM CST up reply

Meaning...
…our best two players play the same position
by Oceanary on Nov 14, 2010 5:08 PM CST up reply

But they don’t.
Hasn’t the number one takeaway from this stretch been that Love and Beasley not only can co-exist, but also seem to enhance each other’s games and free the other up to do their thing?
by LoveTo on Nov 14, 2010 5:10 PM CST up reply

Depends on how you view such things
As S-n-P said, the team has been giving out the impression that the future of this team is Beasley at the 4, which means Love is either a sixth man or traded
by Oceanary on Nov 14, 2010 5:11 PM CST up reply

How have they been doing that?
I’ve missed that impression.
by LoveTo on Nov 14, 2010 5:13 PM CST up reply

Love’s 37+ minutes in three of the last four games suggest otherwise in my eyes.
by LoveTo on Nov 14, 2010 5:14 PM CST up reply

You’ve also missed....
….the team luncheons, press conferences, locker room chatter
by Oceanary on Nov 14, 2010 5:14 PM CST up reply

Care to fill me in?
Otherwise, I’ll take what I see on the court over your word for it.
by LoveTo on Nov 14, 2010 5:15 PM CST up reply

I don’t know what else to say
Like S-n-P often says when he talks about front office dysfunction, it’s just something you’ll have to take our word on
by Oceanary on Nov 14, 2010 5:19 PM CST up reply

I think I’ll pass.
I’ve got to think that even if that was the idea before the season, if this type of play continues, they’ll change their mind.
by LoveTo on Nov 14, 2010 5:20 PM CST up reply

I can add a bit more..
…as I really don’t like having hearsay on the site (which is why I stopped writing about stuff like this), but it has been openly talked about how a Webster/Wes/Beasley wing is something Kahn has as his base lineup and that they are going to do whatever they can to find an athletic 4/5.

I doubt a 31/31 game is going to change Kahn’s mind. Long and athletic is his goal as is removing anything that still smells like McHale.
by Stop-n-Pop on Nov 14, 2010 5:21 PM CST up reply

Well, since we’re putting it out there...
….Ronzone told me the same thing[/b
]by Oceanary on Nov 14, 2010 5:23 PM CST up reply

this bums me out
by davechisholm on Nov 14, 2010 5:23 PM CST up reply

Aaaaand...
depressed.

And hoping against hope you’re wrong.
by LoveTo on Nov 14, 2010 5:23 PM CST up reply

Me too
[b]You’ve already started seeing some rumblings about them getting an athletic big in the draft. Patric Young’s name was dropped. Keep your eye out for mentions of Perry Jones. Jan Vesley is another guy you’ll hear a lot about.
by Stop-n-Pop on Nov 14, 2010 5:29 PM CST up reply

I was wondering...
How a hack like “shooter” knew who Patric Young was
by Blakeley on Nov 14, 2010 5:57 PM CST up reply

No kidding
He just didn’t pull that name out of a hat.
by Stop-n-Pop on Nov 14, 2010 6:28 PM CST up reply

[prefuse73]

I can see it happening now with his value so high. Can we get Favors? or would we be looking to get someone like Iggy for Love and Brewer. Long term, would rubio and iggy work together?

Favors would be ideal IMO. Love and Pek (or a pick) for Favors.

Milicic (30) - Favors (18)
Favors (12) - Beasley (24) - Tolliver (12)
Beasley (12) - Webster (20) - Brewer (8) - Tolliver (8)
Johnson (30) - Webster (10) - Brewer (8)
Flynn (28) - Ridnour (20)

[Worm Guts]

Kind of contradicts the recent rumors than teams had been asking about Love and turned away. I don't know though, I could see Kahn trading Love but I hope he's at least smart about it.

[moss_is_1]

I wouldn't mind...Trade Love for a high pick this draft, take Perry Jones and then BPA.

Rubio-Flynn
Wes-Ellington
Beas-Webster
Perry Jones-Tolliver
Darko-Pek

of course assuming that Brewer's not coming back. Perry Jones, or even a similar player in Anthony Randolph who we all know Ronzone has a Ronzone over. Love is a good player, but inconsistent at creating his own points, and soooooooo bad on defense.

[Worm Guts]

I can see it happening now with his value so high. Can we get Favors? or would we be looking to get someone like Iggy for Love and Brewer. Long term, would rubio and iggy work together?

Favors would be ideal IMO. Love and Pek (or a pick) for Favors.

Milicic (30) - Favors (18)
Favors (12) - Beasley (24) - Tolliver (12)
Beasley (12) - Webster (20) - Brewer (8) - Tolliver (8)
Johnson (30) - Webster (10) - Brewer (8)
Flynn (28) - Ridnour (20)

I understand why people like Favors, but I don't like trading Love for a guy who isn't already productive. It feels like a step back.

[moss_is_1]

I've cooled on the Favors praise. He looks impressive, but I want me some Perry Jones, or someone like that. I would say something like Harden and Ibaka for Love and Brewer, but it would be a bit tough to trade to OKC and see Love rip us apart.

[Worm Guts]

Perry Jones is the same problem as Favors, he's 19 and he's probably not productive right away. I'm OK with drafting Jones and going with Milicic, Love, Jones front court rotation. If Jones emerges then Love becomes expendable.

[WallyWorld]

Why are so many people obsessed with trading for more draft picks? I swear it is a complex some of us have (I call it Irrational Draft Pick Fetish Syndrome), as if (ANOTHER) pick is more valuable than Kevin Love. Can you imagine the uproar if Love were traded for the 5th pick in the draft next year? Taking a step beck doesn't that just sound-semi-retarded? Enough with the draft picks, good lord. Love has been developing here for 2 and a half years. This is significant. Package him with other stuff to get a personnel upgrade, not ANOTHER rookie. Or just keep him.

Like the girl who always dates the D-bag and is shocked when she is cheated on for the 165th time....Wolves fan's innate psychological attraction to dysfunction and losing continues.

[jpatrick]

Love has grown on me this year. It's still frustrating to see him give up a wide open 15 footer w/o even putting up a hand or fail to finish right under the basket but he's a damn good player. I think his offensive game would flourish if he was used primarily in pick and pop situations with a PG like Rubio. If Love was in Utah and used like they used Boozer who was not exactly athletic, he could easily score 20 a night and shoot 50%+.

I can see a deal for Favors and Jones is similar in that he's oozing with potential but won't be an above average starter for a couple seasons, but Jones is in no way a 4/5 and may end up being more Anthony Randolph or Darius Miles than KG. And is anyone else concerned that former Gopher Kris Humphries is starting over Favors in NJ?

Any way we can go back to the Love/Mayo draft and make Blake Griffin declare so we can pick him #3? He is as explosive of a finisher as I've seen in awhile. Wow.

[AQuintus]

I would say something like Harden and Ibaka for Love and Brewer, but it would be a bit tough to trade to OKC and see Love rip us apart.

I was really thinking about that exact trade a few days ago, but after last night's game I don't think I would do it. Neither of those guys showed any flashes at all (at least in that game) that made me think that they could be star players, and stars are what we need.

Edit:

And is anyone else concerned that former Gopher Kris Humphries is starting over Favors in NJ?

Not really for 3 reasons.

1. Humphries is actually playing pretty well.
2. Favors is known as a project, so they're bringing him along slowly.
3. Avery Johnson is the Nets' coach and he's not known for managing personnel wisely.

Any way we can go back to the Love/Mayo draft and make Blake Griffin declare so we can pick him #3? He is as explosive of a finisher as I've seen in awhile. Wow.

As much as I would love to have Griffin on the team (he's an absolute freak), the whole reason that we would be trading Love is because his D is terrible. Griffin doesn't fix that problem.

Edit 2:

I understand why people like Favors, but I don't like trading Love for a guy who isn't already productive. It feels like a step back.

I think that this really depends on how much of an upgrade in athleticism and defense that Favors would provide over Love. We would certainly be worse statistically, but I could see us being a better, more successful team.

[Krapinsky]

I buy that the team has their eye on an athletic, defending, 4/5. I don't buy that it takes swapping Love to get that or that it would mean Love doesn't have a place on the team. Big Worm already pointed out the Love rumors before. Moreover, we'll have a top 10 pick, an extra point guard, and two first round picks to deal. A player like Patric Young is probably 3-4 years from making an impact so it makes no sense that they would view him as a Love replacement.

I also don't buy the fact that the front office sees Beasley as a 4 and not a 3. I like him much more as a developing 3 right now than an undersized 4.

The one player that makes some sense though is Favors. We'd have him on his rookie deal for two more years, which would probably help our finances down the road when Beasley and Love are both due extensions. He also is projected to fit well next to Rubio, Darko and/or Beasley.

[shrink]

Good to see a true Old Schooler, WW.

Where ya been?

[Darko Miliminutes]

I kind of like the Ibaka and Harden idea...

[Krapinsky]

Just out of curiosity, what would you guys pay Love if he were on the market right now? Is he a player that you want to pay $12M/year too? If he's the 4th best guy on a Championship team, is that something that you can justify?

I see that as the main motivation to trade Love eventually. I just don't know if he'll ever be worth what the market would bear for a player that puts up those kinds of ridiculous stats.

[jballer_13]

Good point Krap... I don't think Love is worth $12 Mil a year in what I'm assuming is a re-done CBA with slightly lower salaries. It seems like Beasley is on his way to getting a Max or near max contract so $12 Mil to Love at the same time would finish our rebuilding and lock us into the roster at that time.

I feel that Beas/Love is just too awful defensively. If Love would accept a 6th man role then it could work but I don't ever see that happening.

[Stephen S]

How do we all feel about Robin Lopez?

He would allow Darko to funnel his inner Dirk...

Love for Lopez and Clark


Rubio/(Flynn or Ridnour)
Johnson/Webster/Brewer
Beasley/Webster/Brewer
Darko/Tolliver/Clark
Lopez/Pekovic

Edit: our post defense would rock

[AQuintus]

Brook Lopez sure, but Robin isn't anywhere close to that valuable and Clark is so bad that is contract probably makes him negative value.

[WallyWorld]

Good to see a true Old Schooler, WW.

Where ya been?

I know I;m pushing 10 years of being on this site. I stick to the blog (twolvesblog.com) these days. Smaller, easier to follow and keep up with topics....perfect for old timers. I still read these forums daily from the phone and keep up with what is going on.

[Stephen S]

I also would try and pry Hibbert away from Indiana, but don't see it happening.

I could go for a Love plus Pekovic for Hibbert and Posey

I think we are over paying, but it would be a 'singular' move

[Dewey]

IDK ... more rehashed made up rumors.

First, Love's $$ value is yet to be determined - he's still an immature pup like every other player on the team. If there's a trade being offered, so be it, but that's for any player. That does not seem to be the case here with Love.

Beas the max? ... riiiiight.

Beas and Love are both role players that start right now on a young team ... neither are anyting to write home about, defensively, and IMO, this limits their overall trade value. I personally don't care if we trade either one, but don't go leaving me with Ellington or expect that Tolliver (good reserve) can fill heavy minutes on a consistent basis.