Minnesota Timberwolves star power forward Kevin Love has the ability to opt out of his contract after the 2015 season and become an Unrestricted free agent. It seems like there is no chance he will stay in Minnesota so the T wolves are looking to trade him before the trade deadline. Love is one of the 15 best players in the league and will immediately swing the league in a trade. Love is one of the best pick and roll big men in the league. He shoots well from anywhere including the 3 point line. He is one of the best rebounders in the league. On defense he does have some shortcomings. He isn’t physical enough to defend the best post players. At times he will stop contesting shots early to prepare for the rebounding opportunity. Love is one of the best pick and roll defending bigs in the league. Love is a bad rim protector. This means that he can’t play effective center.
Chicago Houston and Golden State will all attempt to trade for Love. while numberous other teams will probably try to trade for Love those 3 are the only contenders that have a chance to get him. Golden State will most likely offer Barnes or Thompson as the principal piece of a trade. Houston has the huge expiring contracts of Lin and Asik. Chandler Parsons will most likely leave the team as a restricted free agent. Chicago can offer recent Draft pick Tony Snell or boozer or Gibson. Other teams will attempt to trade for Love but most of those bidders will probably require Love to sign an agreement guaranteeing that he will stay with the team for at least the next 2 seasons. Because of the number of possibilities the Kevin Love saga will probably be the most interesting storyline of this NBA summer.
Another possible free agent is Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks recently brought in legendary head coach Phil Jackson as GM. They currently do not have a head coach after striking out on Stan Van Gundy and Steve Kurr. Melo can opt out of his deal and become an unrestricted free agent or remain with the Knicks for the final year on his deal. The eastern conference is way worse than the west. The Knicks play are iconic francise playing in an iconic arena with great fans and a huge payroll. They won’t be bad for long if Phil is half as successful as a GM as he was as a coach. Of course if Carmelo stays in New York he will have to go through a rebuliding year. The Knicks will also be able to give him a bigger contract as an extension than any other team would be allowed to give in free agency. But the differences in contracts wouldn’t be that much once you figure in the fact that the contract would be more years so if Carmelo resigns with his future team sooner he makes more money and New York state has high income tax rates. Houston, Chicago, and the Lakers are the likely landing spots for Carmelo if they fail to get Kevin Love.
by Noah Gould
