Kevin Love, Andrew Wiggins and the decisions that shaped these NBA Finals

[AbeVigodaLive]

bleed, 'IF WE WOULD EVER DISCUSS LOVE TRADE', I think the Millsap angle is a smart place to start. That Atlanta team is stuck in purgatory. Good....but not good enough. Will be interesting the direction they choose this off-season. Also, Cleveland won't be looking for draft picks as long as LBJ is still in their employ. A guy like Millsap, one would have to believe, would be exactly the type Cleveland would be looking to add to that team.

ATL gets: #5 (MN - 2016), Shabbaz, 1st RD Pick (Cle 2018 - Top 10 protected)

Cle gets: Millsap, Korver

MN gets: Love

Seems reasonable? We would certainly need to entertain the thought of whether our defense in the future could weather K'Love's poor defense.

I don't see why Atlanta would do that.

[The Rage Monster [enjin:8010341]]

I want nothing to do with Love. He is talented but his poor attitude when he was here and lack of defense everywhere offset that.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

I want nothing to do with Love. He is talented but his poor attitude when he was here and lack of defense everywhere offset that.

Rage I agree. I would pass on Love. He will cost us more than he's worth. I really don't want to spend 20 million plus on a one way player. I don't want to give up assets for him either as free agency provides players as valuable as Love where we wouldn't have to give up assets. I also don't see a good chemistry fit with Love and our core players. Lets keep Ricky, Dieng and our 5 pick which will we on much more friendly contracts and can better compliment KAT, Wiggins and LaVine. We can add pieces in free agency that enhance what we already have and Love is just a direction I don't want to go.

[TAFKASP]

I want nothing to do with Love. He is talented but his poor attitude when he was here and lack of defense everywhere offset that.

Rage I agree. I would pass on Love. He will cost us more than he's worth. I really don't want to spend 20 million plus on a one way player. I don't want to give up assets for him either as free agency provides players as valuable as Love where we wouldn't have to give up assets. I also don't see a good chemistry fit with Love and our core players. Lets keep Ricky, Dieng and our 5 pick which will we on much more friendly contracts and can better compliment KAT, Wiggins and LaVine. We can add pieces in free agency that enhance what we already have and Love is just a direction I don't want to go.

I'll third this motion!

Any "Star" player who complains the team didn't get him to the playoffs is a petulant prick I don't want to root for! While I completely understand Love's issues with the Wolves organization, he ran his mouth to the press far too often for me to respect him. You can voice your complaints behind closed doors, but as a pro you have to understand that the people you're really hurting when you badmouth the organization are the fans. To hear that kind of crap from a player you rooted for, and whose frustrations mirrored your frustrations is too much.

I'd have rather won the Super Bowl with a future Packers HOF'er than win an NBA championship with Love. I'll go further, I'd rather not win an NBA championship if the only way to do so included Love.

Damn I'm getting grouchy in my old age.

Am I the only one here who would love, and laugh my ass off if the only game(s) the Cavs win in the finals are games Love doesn't play in? It would be hilarious if the Cavs ripped off four consecutive wins all while Love was held out with a concussion!! Talk about the emptiest of championships, it would have to grate on him for the rest of his life if he never won another!! FU Love!!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I had this horrible nightmare last night. I dreamed that the Wolves were trying to put together deals to give up some of their young assets to get Kevin Love to return. And then I woke up and remembered Tom Thibodeau was now both coaching and making personnel decisions, and realized he would never be comfortable coaching a defensive liability like Love. I slept really well the rest of the night.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

I had this horrible nightmare last night. I dreamed that the Wolves were trying to put together deals to give up some of their young assets to get Kevin Love to return. And then I woke up and remembered Tom Thibodeau was now both coaching and making personnel decisions, and realized he would never be comfortable coaching a defensive liability like Love. I slept really well the rest of the night.

Well, half the discussion about draft picks state that Thibs will make them good defenders because....well....he's Thibs. Couldn't that same argument be had for other players like Love as well?

Obviously a bit sarcastic. But I firmly believe you can have a guy like Love and succeed as long as he learns and participates in a good team-defensive scheme. He will never be a good defender in one-on-one situations. But you know who else is a putrid individual defender....Steph Curry. But that TEAM plays well, and he isn't nearly as visible anymore. In fact, when I look at a lot of the plus type players in the NBA, many are horrible defenders.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I had this horrible nightmare last night. I dreamed that the Wolves were trying to put together deals to give up some of their young assets to get Kevin Love to return. And then I woke up and remembered Tom Thibodeau was now both coaching and making personnel decisions, and realized he would never be comfortable coaching a defensive liability like Love. I slept really well the rest of the night.

Well, half the discussion about draft picks state that Thibs will make them good defenders because....well....he's Thibs. Couldn't that same argument be had for other players like Love as well?

Obviously a bit sarcastic. But I firmly believe you can have a guy like Love and succeed as long as he learns and participates in a good team-defensive scheme. He will never be a good defender in one-on-one situations. But you know who else is a putrid individual defender....Steph Curry. But that TEAM plays well, and he isn't nearly as visible anymore. In fact, when I look at a lot of the plus type players in the NBA, many are horrible defenders.

Love has been noted as a decent team defender. But if he can't cover much space vs. pick-and-rolls and can't defend at the rim... there's only so much value he can bring defensively.

He's just never fit in in Cleveland. I thought it was going to be a great match. I was wrong on that one.

If he was upset that Cleveland kept him out of Game 3... how upset is he going to be when he's kept out (or benched) of Game 4?

[Lipoli390]

Long's dream is more in the nature of a nightmare. Can we all remember Love standing in the paint as the rest of his teammates ran back on defense? How about his whiny demand to be traded because Kahn offered him a max 4 rather than max 5 year deal? I want visions of Kevin Love in a Timberwolves uniform to remain forever a memory and nothing more.

[TAFKASP]

Long's dream is more in the nature of a nightmare. Can we all remember Love standing in the paint as the rest of his teammates ran back on defense? How about his whiny demand to be traded because Kahn offered him a max 4 rather than max 5 year deal? I want visions of Kevin Love in a Timberwolves uniform to remain forever a memory and nothing more.

Exactly! Although I'd be plenty happy to add vision of Kevin Love never winning a championship to the collection!