The Warriors have managed to make Kevin Love an afterthought when they announced they had signed Shaun Livingston, but that only lasted for a brief second. Now, Warriors fans are expecting the team to aggressively pursue Love, but both teams continue to stand their ground. The Minnesota Timberwolves are patiently playing the waiting game and have been firm with their demands in a deal that will cost them their only superstar.
A deal that would send Love to the Bay Area seemed imminent, but the both teams can’t agree on which pieces to include in the deal. According to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press, the Warriors must take Kevin Martin and include Klay Thompson in any type of deal for Love:
Wolves perspective on GSW deal: Klay must be involved. And since they have to pay Klay and take Lee’s salary, they want to give Martin
— Jon Krawczynski (@APkrawczynski) July 2, 2014
This is nothing new, but more of an insight onto why Minnesota is persistent on shipping Martin to Golden State. Martin’s contract is terrible, but the T-Wolves plan on re-signing Thompson and will also be taking David Lee’s contract, which puts them in a tough salary cap situation. The Warriors would essentially be doing the same thing if they would agree to Minnesota’s terms, they would re-sign Love to a max deal and take Martin’s contract. However, Martin has three years remaining in his contract, while Lee contract expires after next season.
For now, the Timberwolves hold all the leverage, but the clock is ticking. The longer Minnesota waits, the more pressure they will be under to make a deal before the NBA trade deadline. The Timberwolves can’t afford to let Love just walk away from the franchise, so the Warriors could also be patient and wait for them to fold.
I think the trade will be David Lee and Klay Thompson for Kevin Love and Zach LaVine. I believe that’s why the Wolves drafted LaVine, to offer him in the deal. Makes sense, since both Thompson and LaVine are SGs