Love rumors: Golden State deal stalls; Lakers want in
Just as the Kevin Love trade reports were starting to heat up, they're now starting to cool down.
ESPN reported Saturday morning the Golden State Warriors' attempt to land the 25-year-old All-Star have hit an impasse.
Why? Well, just a few days ago a deal between Golden State and Minnesota looked like a good bet, as the Warriors decided they would make young sharpshooter Klay Thompson available in a trade for Love.
That may no longer be the case, as ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein write.
According to the report, new head coach Steve Kerr and Hall of Fame consultant Jerry West are hesitant about giving up Thompson, former All-Star David Lee and a future first-round pick in exchange for Love. Meanwhile, other front office members say it would be worth it if it meant getting a young player widely regarded as one of the best in the league, ESPN reports.
Lakers jump in
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly want in on the Love deal. But not to get Kevin Love.
The LA Times reports the Lakers want to send their No. 7 pick in next week's NBA Draft to Golden State for Thompson – then the Warriors would send pick No. 7 to the Wolves in a deal for Love.
All of this has put the Boston Celtics' plans on hold too.The Boston Herald reports the Celtics are still in hot pursuit of Love, dangling a collection of future first-round picks along with No. 6 in next week's draft and a young player to try to pry Love away.
If their efforts fail and Love gets traded elsewhere, the Celtics would then look to trade All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo, the Herald says, and pursue a long-term rebuilding effort.
The Nuggets earlier this week made their own offer for Love: forward Kenneth Faried, swingman Wilson Chandler and Orlando guard Arron Afflalo – involved as part of a potential three-team trade.
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Of course, everything here could be part of the negotiating process. As Pro Basketball Talk points out, there are a couple possible reasons for the varied reports.
- It's a negotiation. The idea is to get as much as you can for what you are giving up.
- Or it could be a sign of a disagreement in the front office about what the Wolves want for Love.
In the first scenario, the site writes:
Minnesota team president Flip Saunders knows how to play that game in trading Kevin Love – and part of that is sending messages by leaking things to the media.
For example, first you leak something saying, "I haven't seen anything better than what Boston is offering for Love" in hopes of getting other teams to up their bid. Then you leak that the Boston offer isn't all that great, hoping Boston ups its bid.
Many fans' logical assumption would be the Wolves want to trade Love before next Thursday's NBA Draft. But a few local beat writers don't buy that.
