Kevin Love trade rumors look to dominate this offseason, with reports surfacing that Love has given the Minnesota Timberwolves a blunt ultimatum: trade him or lose him to free agency. The Golden State Warriors are prime contenders for Love’s services, so let’s take a look at what a Love trade would mean for Dubs Nation.
How he’d fit:
The Warriors will most likely have to put together a duo out of these four names in order to have a legitimate shot of landing Love: David Lee, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Bogut.
Love would immediately provide the Golden State Warriors a spark both on the offensive end and on the boards, yet how he fits in Oakland has a lot more to do with what the Dubs have to give up in order to get him. Without Bogut, Love would have to shoulder a ton of the load down low (also depending on other moves in free agency and the draft). This could serve to limit the potency of his game in the mid-range and leave the Warriors with some major problems.
However, keeping Bogut and dumping Lee and Barnes would make perfect sense. As good as Lee is offensively, Love is better. The Dubs would receive a similar player to Lee defensively at the power forward position, but would have upgraded to one of the best pure scorers in the NBA. Also, losing Barnes may have just a limited effect seeing how lost Barnes looked for most of the 2013-14 NBA season.
Likelihood of a deal:
The Warriors are an interesting spot for Love. Warriors' management pulled off a coup in wrestling Steve Kerr away from the New York Knicks, and picking up Love in a potential sign-and-trade could wash away a ton of the external criticism being hurled at the team in the wake of the Mark Jackson debacle.
However, this trade would shake up the chemistry this Warriors' team has built over the past two seasons. Although Love is "intrigued" by the possibility of playing with the Warriors, the Warriors can't sell the house they've built over the past two seasons for a shiny new Corvette. They will need to proceed with extreme caution.
Likelihood: Good but dangerous if handled incorrectly
Stay up-to-date on the latest in Kevin Love trade rumors. Follow our Warriors team page today.
Back to the Golden State Warriors Newsfeed