Kevin Love to be traded to Cleveland Cavaliers for top draft pick Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett
By Ian Palmer
In NBA news, forward Andrew Wiggins, the first Canadian to be taken number one overall in the NBA Draft, will be traded before the 2014/15 basketball season tips off. Wiggins, who hails from the Greater Toronto Area, was selected out of Kansas with the first pick this summer by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then Cavaliers then hit the jackpot for a second time during the offseason when LeBron James announced he was leaving the Miami Heat to return to Cleveland to play for the Cavaliers once again.
James let it be known to Cleveland’s front office that he wouldn’t mind having all-star forward Kevin Love join him in Ohio. The problem with that suggestion is that Love is a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Cavaliers made it known through the press that they’d be willing to part ways with Wiggins in some sort of trade for Love. After several weeks of speculation and rumors its appears that a an agreement has been made between the Timberwolves and Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers are making the trade with the understanding that Love will opt out of his current contract next year and will re-sign with Cleveland. Reports say his deal with the Cavaliers will last for five years and be worth $120 million to him.
While it appears the deal has already been signed, sealed and delivered it can’t become official until August 23. This is because Wiggins can’t officially be traded within the first month of signing his rookie contract. This also means that either of the two teams can back out of the proposed trade before August 23 of they have second thoughts regarding the deal. Most NBA experts believe the trade will go through and announced by the clubs on August 23. Love will be joining Kyrie Irving and James in Cleveland and this trio should make Cleveland one of the few favored teams to take the NBA title next season.
It’s believed that Love could have ended up with the Chicago Bulls in a trade if the Cavaliers didn’t acquire him. In addition, Cleveland wouldn’t have enough room under the salary cap to sign Love in 2015, but are capable of signing him now. Minnesota will be obtaining a potential superstar in Wiggins. They’ll also be acquiring Bennett, who was the first-overall pick in the 2013 draft. While Bennett struggled somewhat in his rookie season with Cleveland, the Timberwolves feel he also has a lot of potential.
The Timberwolves hoped they’d be able to unload some big contracts in a trade involving Love, that won’t be the case in this trade. Minnesota would still like to unload players such as Luc Mbah a Moute, Alexey Shved, and J.J. Barea before the start of the 2014/15 season. Love told the Timberwolves that he wouldn’t return to the team after the upcoming season as he’d opt out of his contract instead. That news basically forced the club to trade him before the season. The 25-year-old is a three-time all star who averaged 26 points per game last season along with 12.5 rebounds. He’s averaging 19 points and 12.2 rebounds so far in his NBA career.
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