It's official. Kevin Love will be wearing a Cleveland Cavalier uniform this 2014-2015 season. The Minnesota Timberwolves management has finally declined offers from the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors.
The official reports came from ESPN Yahoo! Sports. They declared both teams are just waiting for the 30-day no trade rule in Andrew Wiggins contract to be nullified.
According to ESPN:
"Wiggins is not eligible to be dealt until Aug. 23 after signing his first contract Thursday, but numerous league insiders -- some of whom are gathered in Las Vegas for this week's Team USA training camp -- have begun to describe a Love-to-Cleveland trade as a 'when' transaction as opposed to an 'if.'
With three weeks to go until Wiggins is eligible to be swapped for Love, one source said Wednesday that James himself already is 'looking forward' to the prospect of welcoming the All-Star power forward as his newest teammate."
The idea that the Golden State Warriors would be pressured and agree to include Klay Thompson in the trade package for Love was also debunked when it was revealed the Timberwolves owner prefers the Cleveland package:
"The Warriors conceivably could still give Cleveland something to worry about if they suddenly put Thompson on the table while the Cavs are waiting for Wiggins to become trade eligible, but sources say (Glen) Taylor (Timberwolves owner) prefers a package headlined by Wiggins to a Thompson-led haul for Love. Thompson is eligible for a lucrative contract extension from the Warriors or any team he's traded to between now and Halloween, whereas Wiggins is not only the biggest prize from last month's draft but also far more affordable over the next few seasons."
Minnesota is now indeed on a complete rebuilding phase. Other off-season moves includes the Timberwolves signing point guard Mo Williams for better veteran presence and leadership and it looks like J.J. Barea will be gone by next season.
All the signals from both the T-Wolves and the Cavs have an aura of finality about them. Thus, it is probably a safe bet that there is indeed a new Big Three in the East of Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love.
