The NBA season has finished and, like every other season, we now spend the next few months with eyes on the draft, free agency and trades.
This off-season however could be a significant one, with big names Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony already opting out of final year contracts to test the market.
Star players who warrant the headlines and attention, but a player who may have slipped under the radar in the last week is Kevin Love.
Unfortunately the Minnesota Timberwolves won’t convince the star power forward to stick around after his contract expires at the end of next season, unless they can somehow get Lebron and Carmelo to join him.
Why does he want out? Is it the weather? Is it the fact they failed to get him much help? You can decide.
Kevin Love always has people debating the quality of star he truly is. In his six seasons in the NBA he has never been able to carry a middle-of-the-road Minnesota team to the playoffs in a extremely competitive Western Conference. Does this raise doubts as to how he would perform on a better team? I for one don’t buy into that theory.
Last season he averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds a game, he’s a All Star and clearly a top five power forward. He won’t make a All-Defencive team, but a player who can have regular 40/20 games will surely have teams scrambling to move some pieces to fit him – guys like Love don’t come along every draft.
There have been mixed reports as to what Minnesota are thinking. The first option is obviously to trade him as fast as possible and move on with life. The second option is to drag it out into next season and really wait for the perfect trade, running the risk of not finding anything. It can also get a little more difficult if they don’t ship him before the draft on Friday, which is looking unlikely now.
Golden State has emerged as early front-runners. They have the pieces that Minnesota would settle for in Harrison Barnes, David Lee and Klay Thompson – all can contribute right now, and Love might just put the Warriors into real contention in the tough West.
Boston have a lottery pick to offer but not a lot of players that can contribute now.
Chicago were probably joint front-runners a few days ago, but all eyes are now set on Carmelo Anthony after his decision to opt out this week. The Bulls will probably worry about everything else after getting Anthony.
Houston are having a go at pretty much any big name available and have the attraction of Dwight Howard and James Harden of cource.
LA Lakers? Well the Lakers are the Lakers, so who knows?
Whatever happens it’s an interesting few months to come. Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love. This is the one draft I’m looking forward to.
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