The Warriors have been considered one of the favorites to land Kevin Love this off-season, but losing Klay Thompson seemed to be the only thing holding them back from being the front runners in the Love chase. Other teams like the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Denver Nuggets had been rumored to be in the hunt, but if the Warriors include Thompson in the deal, no other team could offer a better trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Now, the Warriors seem willing to part with Thompson after an impressive three years in the Bay Area according to Marc Stein of ESPN, which makes the Warriors the outright favorites to land Love:
Sources told ESPN.com that Golden State, after initially resisting Minnesota’s desire to land Thompson in a Love deal, has relented and is now willing to package Steph Curry’s trusted backcourt mate along with David Lee and first-round pick in a trade for Love that could materialize quickly with the 2014 NBA draft looming Thursday.
Thompson’s father Mychal, himself a former No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft and now a radio analyst on Los Angeles Lakers broadcasts, said Thursday on ESPN LA 710 AM that the Warriors and Wolves are discussing a deal in which Golden State would also receive Kevin Martin from Minnesota in addition to Love.
Thompson has been a fan favorite and half of the Splash Brothers here in Golden State, but Love is arguably a top five NBA player and that is simply too much to pass up. Thompson’s own father Mychal, has confirmed the reports, which means a blockbuster trade could be in the horizon. Love has one year remaining in his contract and before the Warriors are able to pull the trigger, they must assured that Love will sign an extension.
Thompson was hoping to sign with the Warriors long term after being drafted 11th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft. Warriors ownership has been very aggressive these last couple of years, so this move is not all that surprising. The Warriors want to win and they want to do it now. Losing Thompson would be tough, but the idea of Love and Curry on the floor together is very appealing.
*Update*
Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski calmed things down quite a bit with this tweet:
“No deal is close,” league source involved in Minnesota-Golden State talks on Kevin Love tells Yahoo. “(Pieces) change all the time.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 19, 2014
After a deal seemed to be on the horizon, Wojnarowski killed the rumor and for now Klay Thompson and David Lee remain Warriors.
it’s closer than people think. it will take the weekend but the dubs are clearly willing to do what it takes to get two top 10 players on this team.
it all makes too much sense. it’s what Kerr wants to do on offense… Duncan and Parker are two top 10 players that stretch the floor… that’s what Lacob is doing here.
ask Lacob how it went in Boston when they traded valuable assets for KG…