What the Timberwolves Would Be Getting in Signing Kevin Love

Timberwolves fans booed Kevin Love in his first game back at Target Center on Jan. 31, 2015, five months after the Wolves traded their homegrown All-Star to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Love, who never made the playoffs during his six years in Minnesota, grew impatient with the losing environment around him. He reportedly communicated to Minnesota’s front office that he would not sign an extension once his contract expired at the end of the 2015 season.

Wolves fans probably felt as though Love gave up on their franchise, chasing a ring in Cleveland alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. The boos that rained down on Love in his first game back at Target Center made sense at the time.

But over a decade later, many local fans want to see Love return to where his career started and play out his 19th NBA season in Minnesota. According to The Athletic’s Jon Kraczynski, Love and the Wolves front office have some mutual interest in the reunion, too.

There is “some mutual interest” between Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves, per @JonKrawczynski

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The Wolves have one standard roster spot open and enough cap space cleared from the Josh Green trade and subsequent John Konchar waive-and-stretch to sign a player to a veteran’s minimum contract. The Wolves don’t need to fill their final roster spot before the regular season starts, but if they chose to do so by signing Love, here is what they would be getting by bringing in the 38-year-old veteran.

Kevin Love could give Timberwolves leadership and a winning background

By joining the Cavs in 2015, Love got his wish of competing in the playoffs around star-caliber players. In his second year in Cleveland, Love not only won a championship, but he played a big part in it. Over 20 playoff games in 2016, Love averaged 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds on 38.5% from the floor and 41.4% from deep in 30.7 minutes.

Since then, Love has reached the Finals four more times, losing each time. Love hasn’t been in the rotation of a championship-contending team since he made the Finals with the Miami Heat in 2023. Still, the seasoned veteran understands fully what it takes to win a championship.

The Wolves will face a grueling end-of-season schedule this year, including their longest road trip of the season in April. It will be a stretch that will test Minnesota’s conditioning and health. But more importantly, the end of this season will test its maturity, which was lacking last season.

Love, while he wouldn't sign with the Wolves expecting to be a rotation piece, would give Minnesota one of the league's most trusted player voices. Utah’s head coach Will Hardy raved about his leadership over the young Jazz team last season.

“I think Kevin is a Hall of Fame player,” Hardy said. “We need veteran leadership in our locker room, and he has been where all of our guys want to go. He has won at the highest level. In his 18th year in the NBA, he has established longevity in the league, which is what all the young guys want. He has added a lot to our group, so we are lucky to have him.”

This summer, Minnesota shifted from a team full of veteran leadership to now one of the youngest in the league. Mike Conley signed with Boston. Kyle Anderson is in Toronto. Joe Ingles is back in Australia. The Wolves are placing heavy pressure on Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert to lead this team on and off the court. Edwards has indicated that he is ready for that challenge this off-season. Still, it would help the Wolves add another veteran leader to their locker room.

And who better than a champion in Love who could make his homecoming with the team that drafted him, which he could perhaps go on his retirement tour with?

Kevin Love could still be a three-point weapon for the Timberwolves

Love averaged 16.6 minutes across 37 games last season in Utah, during which he averaged 6.7 points and 5.8 rebounds on 37.3% from deep (3.8 attempts), so he still has enough left in the tank to play spot minutes for the Wolves, which would likely be the extent of his role anyways.

In the event of an injury to Jonathan Kuminga, Rudy Gobert, or Joan Beringer, I think Love could play productively for the Wolves. In prolonged stretches, his defensive versatility—particularly away from the rim—would be a concern against certain matchups. But in short stints, the Wolves could probably cover Love's defensive shortcomings that pop up. He is still a quality rebounder and can act as a pick-and-pop threat next to LaMelo Ball.

Offensively, Love would be unproblematic because of his 3-point shooting. Chris Finch could space him off the ball and not have to worry about defenses sagging off him and loading up on other parts of the floor, which would not be true for most of the other bigger free agents on the market, such as Drew Eubanks, Mason Plumlee, or Bismack Biyombo.

A feel-good story

The Wolves are ushering in a season this year that marks a new chapter in team history. They will be wearing new jerseys that harken back to their past while playing on a new court that will do the same. They have a new point guard in Ball who should form a long-term All-Star backcourt with Anthony Edwards.

They won a free-agent battle over the Lakers, signing Jonathan Kuminga to a cheaper deal than LA offered. The Wolves will be hanging Kevin Garnett’s jersey in the Target Center rafters in February. They will also be playing at home on Christmas for the first time in franchise history.

Fans have plenty of reason to be excited for this season and all it will bring. If things go according to the Wolves’ plans and players stay healthy—that is a big if right now—then the team should be able to support that excitement with a consistently competitive team that goes deep into the postseason.

Love, while he wouldn’t hold a significant on-court role in an ideal world, would only boost that excitement. He won't sign in Minnesota to be a rotation piece. He won't be the All-Star-caliber player that Wolves fans booed over a decade ago. Instead, Love would be that veteran leader who can knock down a few threes and end his NBA career in storybook fashion with the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2008.

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