The Minnesota Timberwolves have reached an agreement in principle to send All-Star forward Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a protected 2015 first-round draft pick, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Cleveland is making the deal with Minnesota with a firm agreement Love will opt out of his contract in 2015 and re-sign with the Cavaliers on a five-year, $120 million-plus contract extension, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The deal cannot be finalized until Aug. 23, because Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, cannot be traded until one month after the signing of his rookie contract. The two teams have agreed to the deal, but neither would have recourse if the other decided to pull out of the arrangement before it can be formally completed this month. No third team is involved in the Cavaliers-Timberwolves trade agreement.
The precise deal terms have been agreed upon for weeks, but the teams and Love plan to stay silent about the particulars until the trade is announced in 16 days, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Love will join superstar LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to create the most devastating trio in the NBA and will instantly make the Cavaliers a frontrunner to win the NBA championship.
Part of the Cavaliers' motivation in making the deal for Love was a belief Love would have ended up with the rival Chicago Bulls in a trade and created a significant obstacle in the Eastern Conference, sources said. Cleveland wouldn't have had the salary-cap space to sign Love next summer and could have only obtained him through the trade with Minnesota in a deal now.
Wiggins is the centerpiece of the package for Minnesota. The Timberwolves see superstar potential in the forward out of Kansas. Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft, has shown signs of progress after a difficult start to his rookie season.
The T'wolves had hopes of unloading contracts in a Love deal, but that won't be happening. Minnesota still has a goal of freeing itself of J.J. Barea, Luc Mbah a Moute and Alexey Shved, league sources said.
Love informed the Timberwolves he would not return to the team after opting out of his contract next summer, and pushed them to make a trade before the start of this coming season.
Love, 25, is a three-time NBA All-Star. He averaged 26 points and 12.5 rebounds for the Timberwolves last season. For his career, he's averaged 19 points and 12.2 rebounds.
From
Y! SportsKevin Love Trade Rumors: Cavs and Wolves Reportedly Agree to Deal in PrincipleIt has long been suspected that superstar forward Kevin Love is on his way out of Minnesota. Provided things don't fall through, all signs now point toward Love being a Cleveland Cavalier come Aug. 23.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cavs have agreed to a deal in principle that would send Love to Cleveland in exchange for forwards Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett as well as a protected 2015 first-round pick.
Wiggins and Bennett were the No. 1-overall selections in each of the past two drafts respectively. Wiggins recently signed a rookie contract with the Cavaliers and cannot be traded for one month, which is why the Love deal cannot become official until Aug. 23 at the earliest.
Perhaps most importantly, Wojnarowski is reporting that Love will opt out of his current contract in 2015 and sign a five-year, $120 million extension with the Cavaliers if the trade ultimately comes to fruition.
Even though Cleveland would be losing two young players with a ton of talent, making this move would be a no-brainer. Love is already an established superstar at 25 years of age and he would be the perfect complement to LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
In addition to that, Numbers Never Lie points out that Love was among the NBA's most valuable players last season:
Wiggins and Bennett could be great, but Love already is as evidenced by his three All-Star nods.
Dealing an elite player like Love isn't a desired result for the T'Wolves, but they have no choice. Rather than eventually losing Love for nothing, it makes sense to bring in some players with extremely high ceilings.
Bennett had a rough rookie campaign, but he has plenty of room to grow. Wiggins is oozing with talent on both ends of the floor and he has handled this situation extremely well. When asked about the possibility of being traded on SportsCenter, Wiggins was diplomatic and said all the right things, per ESPN.com.
"I just want to play for a team that wants me. So whichever team wants me I'll play for," Wiggins said. ... "At the end of the day you have to remember that the NBA is a business before anything. I'm a rookie. I really don't have too much say."
If Wiggins gets traded to Minnesota, then he has a chance to be the featured guy and make it his team. He always would have lived in LeBron's shadow in Cleveland, so this could be a great opportunity for him.
The Timberwolves may ultimately score big on this trade over the long term, but there is no doubt that the Cavs benefit during the present and immediate future.
Cleveland was already considered to be among the top contenders to win the Eastern Conference this season along with the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers, however, Love would put the Cavaliers over the top.
He would give them a dominant presence inside that would open things up even more for LeBron, Irving and others. Acquiring a player like Love is an opportunity that doesn't come around too often and the Cavs are smart to take advantage of it.
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