The Cavaliers are believed to be the leaders to land Kevin Love in trade from the Timberwolves, in large part due to the theory that they’d include Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a future first round pick in the deal, as well as engage a third team to take on some of Minnesota’s more unappealing contracts.
The Bulls were reportedly making a late push to get into the Love sweepstakes, but a package of Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and some filler was viewed to be somewhat less thrilling than the upside of two former number one overall picks.
But what if the pieces being offered by the Bulls were to change?
From Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops:The Chicago Bulls have offered a package of Taj Gibson and rookies Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic to the Minnesota Timberwolves for All-Star forward Kevin Love, a league source told SheridanHoops.com on Wednesday.
The package is extremely intriguing to the Timberwolves, but there is a catch; it cannot be completed for another 29 days because McDermott and Mirotic signed their rookie contracts Tuesday. NBA rules prohibit rookies from being traded within the first 30 days of inking their rookie deals. ...
The source who spoke to SheridanHoops said he believed the Bulls’ offer was better in the minds of the Wolves than the Cavs’ current offer of Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a first-round pick.
But if Cleveland is willing to include a second future first-round pick – it owns the rights to Miami’s first-rounder as well as Memphis’ in 2015) – that might be enough to trump Chicago’s offer.
Here’s where things get interesting.
McDermott is an exciting rookie who showed an NBA-ready ability to score during Summer League in Las Vegas, and Mirotic is an experienced European player who should have no trouble stepping in and contributing immediately as part of a team’s frontcourt rotation.
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports that Mirotic sought a long-term commitment from the Bulls before agreeing to sign a deal with them to come to the states, however, and that Gibson is consistently being told not to worry about hearing his name come up in rumors.
The question becomes what the Timberwolves truly want to get out of a deal for Kevin Love. If they want players who can contribute immediately to help the team move towards a return to the playoffs, then Chicago’s offer seems better-suited to that. But if they want to begin a rebuilding process with a jump start of having talented young prospects in place, then the deal Cleveland can put together still seems like the better of those options.