The rumor mill continues to churn…
We’ve heard Kevin Love’s name tied to the Celtics heavily for a few weeks now, and reports have had the chances at him going to Boston at very high. And very low. And very high again. And then there was the Love/Carmelo Anthony/Rajon Rondo stuff. And then then chances were low again. And then they were high again. Now this, from the Boston Herald:
The Celtics are willing to discuss a number of options, but none of them includes the quality of player with NBA experience that Minnesota is seeking or believes it can get elsewhere.
One source indicated Denver and Golden State have both made more intriguing offers, and there are other teams very much in the picture, as well.
At present, what the Celtics have to offer isn’t getting it done.
The Boston Globe echoed the same ideas in a different report, while adding more information regarding other possible deals:
“They’re not even in the top three,” one league source said of the Celtics.
It’s still unclear, according to league sources, if the Timberwolves have fully committed to trading Love, but if they are, Golden State and Chicago are considered front-runners, with Denver said to be in the mix.
There’s speculation that Golden State could offer a package including shooting guard Klay Thompson, forward David Lee, while Chicago could offer a package including Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson.
The Nuggets could offer forward Kenneth Faried and forward Wilson Chandler, league sources said.
The NBA Draft will be held a week from today. It would behoove Minnesota to deal Love now rather than at the trade deadline. Now, they know where teams will be picking and have already done extensive homework on a strong draft class. Additionally, Love’s value only decreases with every passing day as he creeps closer to free agency in 2015. Other teams would much prefer to land him now and have a full training camp to work him into their system, rather than throw him into the fire mid-season and risk losing him after a few months. We’ll see what coach/president Flip Saunders has up his sleeve.
