Love in town to "see what it's like"

[ILC]

[tweet]http://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/473527071361490944[/tweet]

I don't know. I'm just so scared this all doesn't backfire at us. Everyone's acting like this is done deal, or at least it seems that way.

It's literally too good to be true.

[jmr07019]

jesus christ the draft is still almost a month away and i'm gonna be thinking about this every day until then

[BannersOnly]

I think in the spirit of fear of being disappointed, this is being downplayed far too much.

Either a deal in principle is close to done or Love is forcing the T-wolves hand.

If you're minny, you know he's gone after next year. You have to trade him.

If you're Sacramento, Cleveland, or lakers, does it look like Love will not bolt to Boston if you trade for him?

This is a crazy smart move by Love. He ruined the offers of GS and Sac because they will have serious doubts of him staying and he gets to leave Minny to a place welcoming him and ready to invest in him for the next 6 years and possibly beyond.




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I agree. Where there is smoke there is fire. Flip Saunders already has a good relationship with Ainge and the Celtics owners because they hired him a couple seasons ago to sit in the stands and do scouting work for the Celtics. That doesn't mean he is going to just gift the guy to Ainge, but it does carry weight because if the deal is "right" than Saunders has no problem whatsoever dealing with Ainge because he was helped out a couple eason ago.

Secondly, why the hell would Love just take a random visit to Boston? It's absurd to think that his people haven't been in touch with Saunders and Ainge and asked to explore the possibility in case they get to the point where they truly want to make the trade. Love just isn't wasting a weekend in Boston for the hell of it. No way.

I think the outline of a deal has been discussed and both Saunders/Ainge feel that each side can come away with a win-win deal as long as Love is on board with it. Unless Cleveland or Philly pull off a shocker and offer the #1 or #2 pick plus more for Love, than I fail to see how any other team can offer more to Minnesota in exchange for Love unless something CRAZY happens like the Clippers offering up Griffin, OKC offering up Westbrook or something completely out of left field. Boston is sitting pretty but Saunders will still make sure it's a win-win deal and not a fleece job.

I think the deal happens with Boston giving up #6, #17, a future top 3 protected 1st in a year of Minny's choosing(2015 thru 2018) plus Sully and another bench player in exchange for Love and some salary Minny wants to get rid of like Martin.

[VinBaker6]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/scott_souza/status/473526526315884544[/tweet]

Wow you guys are definitely getting K-Love. Rondo wouldn't be saying **** like that if there wasn't any truth to it.

Congrats y'all. The Atlantic just got better

[SuperDeluxe]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/scott_souza/status/473526526315884544[/tweet]

I'm not an English-language genius, but shouldn't he have said "he would" instead of "he's going to"?

Also, why would he add "nothing's set in stone"? Technically, it's not even scribbled on sand, is it?

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

If you're Sacramento, Cleveland, or lakers, does it look like Love will not bolt to Boston if you trade for him?

This is a crazy smart move by Love. He ruined the offers of GS and Sac because they will have serious doubts of him staying and he gets to leave Minny to a place welcoming him and ready to invest in him for the next 6 years and possibly beyond.

Yeah, I think this move by Love and Schwartz wasn't meant to force Minnesota to trade him. That is already happening. I think Love's visit was to scare off other suitors. It's basically him saying "Hey, if you want to trade a ton of assets to get me, then I can't stop you. However, just be aware that there's a possibility that I could walk away next year".

[SuperDeluxe]

If you're Sacramento, Cleveland, or lakers, does it look like Love will not bolt to Boston if you trade for him?

This is a crazy smart move by Love. He ruined the offers of GS and Sac because they will have serious doubts of him staying and he gets to leave Minny to a place welcoming him and ready to invest in him for the next 6 years and possibly beyond.

Yeah, I think this move by Love and Schwartz wasn't meant to force Minnesota to trade him. That is already happening. I think Love's visit was to scare off other suitors. It's basically him saying "Hey, if you want to trade a ton of assets to get me, then I can't stop you. However, just be aware that there's a possibility that I could walk away next year".

Probably a spot-on assessment.

[Datruth345]

love the mark blount quote SD

[sully00]

If you're Sacramento, Cleveland, or lakers, does it look like Love will not bolt to Boston if you trade for him?

This is a crazy smart move by Love. He ruined the offers of GS and Sac because they will have serious doubts of him staying and he gets to leave Minny to a place welcoming him and ready to invest in him for the next 6 years and possibly beyond.

Yeah, I think this move by Love and Schwartz wasn't meant to force Minnesota to trade him. That is already happening. I think Love's visit was to scare off other suitors. It's basically him saying "Hey, if you want to trade a ton of assets to get me, then I can't stop you. However, just be aware that there's a possibility that I could walk away next year".

I don't think it has anything to do with other suitors as much as whether or not to opt in for 15-16 to facilitate the trade is on the table.

[SuperDeluxe]

love the mark blount quote SD

It's a real quote. Mark has been an inspiration to me.

[pfm]

I was thinking about Blount's 28/25 game the other day. That was...a time.

[pfm]

EASILY the best thing to come out of the pre-KG era was this:

http://miraclejohan.bandcamp.com/track/ ... ck-perkins

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

I don't think it has anything to do with other suitors as much as whether or not to opt in for 15-16 to facilitate the trade is on the table.

I really hope this is the case. If Love opts in for 2015-16, then it is potentially huge for the Celtics during the 2015 Free agency period.

If Love decides to become a free agent the same time Rondo does, then his cap hold is 150% of what he earned the previous year, which means it would be at around $23.5 million. If Love decides to hold off on free agency for one extra year and stay during 2015-16, then he is only on the books for $16.7 million. That means the Celtics free up about $6.8 million of cap space to chase free agents with.

However, we may be getting ahead of ourselves, since we won't know what the cap situation will look like if this trade goes through. Hell, we don't even know if this trade goes through

[Captain_Caveman]

If you're Sacramento, Cleveland, or lakers, does it look like Love will not bolt to Boston if you trade for him?

This is a crazy smart move by Love. He ruined the offers of GS and Sac because they will have serious doubts of him staying and he gets to leave Minny to a place welcoming him and ready to invest in him for the next 6 years and possibly beyond.

Yeah, I think this move by Love and Schwartz wasn't meant to force Minnesota to trade him. That is already happening. I think Love's visit was to scare off other suitors. It's basically him saying "Hey, if you want to trade a ton of assets to get me, then I can't stop you. However, just be aware that there's a possibility that I could walk away next year".

I think he mostly just wanted to see the city. Was probably unsure about it all. If he signs off, I suspect it will have that impact, though. Because we can easily have the cap room to just sign him outright next summer, while still retaining Rondo, Bradley, Sullinger, Olynyk and likely all of our freaking picks, he can start killing trades if he wants to. And if it is Cleveland or Sacramento, I think he will.

[15th overall]

Marc Spears is supposed to be on WEEI at 4:30. I'm gonna try to tune in if I can, will report anything of interest.

EDIT,
By the way, that Souza quote does not bode for the box of tissues right next to me. lol

[shawn unkempt]

EASILY the best thing to come out of the pre-KG era was this:

http://miraclejohan.bandcamp.com/track/ ... ck-perkins

What on earth

[ILC]

WALTHAM – After fielding a few questions about his summer Monday afternoon during a surprise chat at the Boston Celtics practice facility, point guard Rajon Rondo finally heard the one he must have known would come.

Obviously reporters would mention his Sunday meeting with Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love at Fenway Park. Love’s visit to Boston could have been completely innocent, just a wealthy 25-year-old man exploring a nice New England city. But the trip also prompted speculation about his future, speculation that maybe the Celtics are included among his preferred trade destinations.

“You get right to it, huh?” cracked Rondo, obviously expecting chatter about Love. “I talked to Kevin for about 39 seconds. We didn’t talk a lot. … We do work together, we play against each other, we compete. So when I saw Kevin, I spoke, told him good luck with his time here in Boston. He spent a couple days here in Boston, and I told him I was spending a couple months here in Boston.”

A chance meeting between two NBA All-Stars sitting in different sections of an MLB stadium sounds dubious, but Rondo said he didn’t know he would see Love.

“When I was at the game, some people came up to me and told me that Kevin was sitting in some really nice seats,” Rondo said. “As I was exiting out, I was leaving the game, in the past couple of suites, and he was sitting there. His seats were way better than mine. I don’t know (why). I actually requested to sit on the Monster. I wanted the real experience. Nothing came out there; a couple fly balls got close but I didn’t catch anything yesterday.”

Love spent the entire weekend in Boston, mingling with Celtics fans around town and checking out the Red Sox game Sunday. Currently under contract with the Timberwolves, the power forward reportedly wants out of Minnesota. He has some leverage because he can opt out of his deal next summer.

The Celtics would be expected to pursue him if he does hit the trade market, but Rondo said he didn't try to sell his team.

“A pitch?” the guard said. “No, I think the only pitches that were thrown were by Jon Lester, he throw a couple pitches. But I didn’t pitch anything. I just told him to enjoy his time here.”

Added Rondo: “We would be a lot better if we had a guy like Kevin. He’s a range-shooting four. He’s going to help on the glass. Obviously we haven’t been the best on the glass in the last couple years, he’ll do a better job at that aspect. But this is all speculation. Nothing’s happened, nothing’s set in stone. We could talk about Kevin all day or we can insert Carmelo (Anthony’s) name in there all day. Nothing’s happened. We have a couple days left before the draft, things might shake up around that time. You never know. It’s still a long summer until the beginning of training camp.”

Rondo has said he would like to test free agency in 2015, when his current contract expires, but reiterated his preference to stay in Boston and his normal stance that he doesn’t like change. The guard can make substantially more money as a free agent than he could by signing a contract extension, so hitting the market makes sense even if he has no intentions of leaving.

“I’m pretty comfortable,” he said. “I have a beautiful home here. I love it here. I have a great neighbor, the best neighbor in the world. I don’t want to leave. It’s just part of the process that I’ll talk about once the season’s over. As of now I’m a Celtic. I’ve been training here, the staff has been doing pretty good as far as my rehab. I’ve been working with (strength coach Bryan Doo) a lot and (trainer Ed Lacerte) every day. This is home for me as of now.”

Kelly Olynyk, Phil Pressey and Chris Babb were also at the Celtics practice facility, where Rondo said he has done most of his working out this summer. He said he has been enjoying the first offseason he plans to spend mostly in the Boston area.

“It’s been great," he said. "My summer’s been really quiet. I’ve just been here in Waltham, just rehabbing every day in the morning, and then at night come back and shoot some free throws. That’s about it. I’ve been traveling in and out on the weekends. But I try to be here at least four or five days a week to rehab every day.”

After voicing a strong vote of confidence in Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, Rondo was asked if he would like to see major improvements before making his free agency decision.

“At the end of the day, I want to win,” he said. “I want to win now, and I’m sure Danny will have the guys in here that will be able to compete for a title. I don’t just want to make the playoffs, or get to the first or second round. When I compete or make it to the playoffs, I expect to win every time.”

“I trust a lot in Danny,” he added. “He’s turned this thing around before, so I don’t not have any faith in Danny. I believe in Danny. I think we do need another big-time player, but that’s all his job. He’s working on that now and I completely have faith in him.”

Love would be the type of addition to validate Rondo’s faith in Ainge.

“I don’t need to say how good he is,” Rondo said. “The world sees it every night, sees his stats every night. He puts up great numbers. But I think he wants to win now. It seems like as of now, the team to beat, you have to gear up to beat the Miami Heat or the San Antonio Spurs the way both teams are continuing to dominate these last couple seasons.

"I think a lot of teams out there (need to change) the structure of their roster and try to make adjustments. The two or three years that we were good, the Miami Heat geared up to beat the Boston Celtics. The year before that, we geared up to beat the Detroit Pistons. It’s a matter of trying to get the right team together to go compete (with) the Heat and Spurs. They’re the teams to beat.”

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.s ... ve_wo.html

And also, here's a picture of that report that Love was on the roof with Gronkowski:

[ILC]

And yeah, about this Rondo's mentioning of Melo.

Please RR, one at a time. I don't know how I'm handling all of this with KLove, and than he throws Melo in the mix. :/

[15th overall]

Posted Caveman's Souza tweet on the GB for trolling purposes, hope that was cool.

[KamikazeK]

“When I was at the game, some people came up to me and told me that Kevin was sitting in some really nice seats,” Rondo said. “As I was exiting out, I was leaving the game, in the past couple of suites, and he was sitting there. His seats were way better than mine. I don’t know (why). I actually requested to sit on the Monster. I wanted the real experience. Nothing came out there; a couple fly balls got close but I didn’t catch anything yesterday.”

Sounds like he's giving out a bit more information than was asked of him. Is he lying?