Reports: Kings want to trade for Kevin Love, whether he agrees to stay or not. Wizards may be interested, too.

Minnesota will trade Kevin Love to whichever team gives them the best package in return.

Love has some leverage in this process because teams will not jump in the game unless he agrees to re-sign (or at least opt in for a year) with them, teams don’t want to give up assets for a rental. Nobody wants to the Lakers with Dwight Howard.

Well… not nobody.

The Sacramento Kings under the aggressive ownership of Vivek Ranadive want to get in the Love trade mix whether or not he plans to re-sign there, reports Marc Spears at Yahoo.

The Sacramento Kings have let the Minnesota Timberwolves know they are interested in trading for All-Star forward Kevin Love – and the Kings would make a deal without any assurance from Love he’d re-sign with them, a league source told Yahoo Sports...

The Kings are willing to give up their eighth overall pick in this year’s NBA draft and a combination of players for Love, even though he would not be expected to sign a contract extension before next season – if ever, with the rebuilding, small-market franchise, the source said. Sacramento envisions Love and DeMarcus Cousins playing alongside each other in the front court. Swingman Rudy Gay has a player’s option for next season.

This is the kind of thing teams leak to show their fan bases “we will do whatever it takes for you” knowing full well the entire time it’s not happening.

As Romeo Void taught us (before Beiber was even born), never say never. However the odds of Love re-signing with Sacramento would be minuscule. What teams around the league hear is that Love wants to be in a major market and to start winning now. Sacramento is not going to fit that bill (although the Love/Cousins/Gay combo likely lifts the Kings to the playoffs).

Washington doesn’t fit the bill either, but the Wizards may be interested, too, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com.

Wiz are a stealth candidate for Kevin Love -- his father, Stan, who played for the then-Bullets in the early ‘70s, gave his son the middle name “Wesley,” as in Wes Unseld. And Kevin Love has a soft spot as a result for the franchise. But the trade talk will surely die when the words “Bradley Beal” come out of Flip Saunders’ mouth.

Neither Sacramento nor Washington are markets that Kevin Love likely has on his “I would re-sign there” list.

That list is thought to include the Lakers, Bulls, Warriors, Knicks, and Rockets.

Minnesota doesn’t care, they want the best package available. I’m not sure the No. 8 pick, Ben McLemore and some other pieces to make the salaries match is going to be the best offer. Same with any Wizards package without Beal or John Wall.

But don’t be surprised if other teams consider jumping in or at least saying they are, pushed by aggressive owners. It’s good PR to say you tried. Love is a big-time player and the Timberwolves are going to some interesting offers for him.

They will take the best one for them, not him.