And now from our “non-update update” file….
The Minnesota Timberwolves are still talking to teams about trading Kevin Love. The Golden State Warriors are still interested in having Kevin Love on their team.
And yet the two sides remain at an impasse named Klay Thompson.
Marc Stein of ESPN has the latest “update” at ESPN.
The Timberwolves and Warriors have continued to discuss a Kevin Love trade, but the teams remain unable to agree on the framework of a deal with Golden State still unwilling to include Klay Thompson, according to sources close to the process.
Sources told ESPN.com that Wolves owner Glen Taylor and Warriors counterpart Joe Lacob have maintained a level of dialogue on a potential trade of Love to Golden State, which sources insist would have been clinched by now if Golden State -- at the behest of new coach Steve Kerr -- relented on their refusal to part with Thompson.
Minnesota is reported to be in the same situation with the Cleveland Cavaliers — the Timberwolves wants No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins in any deal, Cleveland will not put him in the deal. And so they are stalled.
Love can opt out next summer and be an unrestricted free agent, and his people have made it clear to Minnesota that he will bolt so they should trade him. Love has some leverage in this process because if he gets traded somewhere he doesn’t want to be he can still opt-out and become a free agent, so only teams where they have a chance to re-sign him would be willing to fork over the assets to get him.
Minnesota president Flip Saunders learned his lesson from Masai Ujiri and the Nuggets trade of Carmelo Anthony — he’s willing to wait until some team caves and gives him the deal he wants. He doesn’t have to make that trade in July.
But if Love has to come to Timberwolves training camp in the fall, it’s going to be awkward.
