FanPost

No Love Loss for Minnesota, There's Plenty to be Happy About

The trade that has been abuzz within NBA circles has finally come to fruition hours after it was legally allowed according to league rules. In the 3-team trade the Cleveland Cavaliers will receive Kevin Love and will send the last two number one picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In addition to receiving Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, the Minnesota will also receive Thaddeus Young from Philadelphia and $6.3 million trade exception. Philadelphia will receive PG Alexey Shved, PF Luc Mbah a Moute and Miami's 2015 first round pick.

What the trade does for Cleveland:

The summer of 2014 has shaken up the Eastern Conference like a snow globe. After the break up of the "Big-3" in Miami, and the devastating loss of Paul George and Lance Stephenson in Indiana, there are two new teams expected to battle for supremacy in the East. Barring injury, the Chicago Bulls and Cavaliers should battle for the Eastern title. The biggest story in sports this summer has been LeBron James homecoming, and with the addition of Kevin Love as well as strong playoff tested veterans, Mike Miller and Shawn Marion (both have championship rings)

The Cavaliers are loaded to make a long championship run. Contrarians may argue that the Cavs are too young, have a rookie NBA coach, and will need time to gel. The fact remains that Cleveland added the best player in basketball in LeBron James as well as adding a top-10 player in Kevin Love. All-Star MVP Kyrie Irving, is now the third best player on the team. LeBron makes those around him better in a way the league hasn't seen since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. I think it is safe to assume that the Cavaliers will have some growing pains as the Miami Heat did in 2010 but the results should be better than any other year in the history of the franchise.

The only way this trade is bad for the Cleveland is if Love doesn't sign to play long term with LeBron and the Cavaliers next summer.

What the trade does for Minnesota:

In the immediate future the Timberwolves definitely take a step backwards, but it's a small step. The addition of three rotation players, two who are unproven but have high ceilings give Minnesota something to be excited about. Thaddeus Young should step into the starting power forward position and give the T-wolves a quality starter in place of the departed Love. His numbers can't compare to Kevin Love's 26, 12.5, 6, but he was the focal point of a bad 76ers team last year. In addition the team has an early termination option on his contract in case they want to free up salary cap space moving into the summer of 2015.

Anthony Bennett played horribly last year as he started the season injured and out of shape. He missed all of training camp and it showed. He actually started playing NBA quality basketball at the end of year. Over the last 3 months of the season he produced at respectable rate considering the lack of minutes.

Anthony Bennett

Month GP MIN FGM FGA FG% 3FGM 3FGA 3FG% FTM FTA FT% OREB DREB REB AST TOV STL BLK PF DD2 TD3 PTS +/-
March 4 10.3 2.0 3.5 57.1% 0.5 0.8 66.7% 0.5 0.5 100% 0.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.0 1.5 0 0 5.0 -0.3
February 13 17.4 2.6 5.9 44.2% 0.4 1.3 29.4% 1.6 2.4 67.7% 1.5 3.3 4.8 0.4 1.2 0.5 0.2 2.3 2 0 7.2 0.5
April 1 15.2 3.0 6.0 50.0% 0.0 0.0 0.0% 1.0 2.0 50.0% 1.0 6.0 7.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 7.0 8.0
Overall GP MIN FGM FGA FG% 3FGM 3FGA 3FG% FTM FTA FT% OREB DREB REB AST TOV STL BLK PF DD2 TD3 PTS +/-
2013-14 18 15.7 2.5 5.4 46.4% 0.4 1.1 35.0% 1.3 1.9 68.6% 1.2 2.9 4.1 0.4 1.1 0.4 0.2 2.0 2 0 6.7 0.7

Over a 17 game period from late January to early March (games 45-62) where he was receiving consistent playing time from game to game, he averaged 7.7 points and 4.47 rebounds while only playing 17.7 minutes per game.

In the Summer League in Las Vegas, Bennett looked much improved and stood out as the best player on the court in stretches. He grabbed rebounds and seemed to have figured out his shot. He was overshadowed by the hype of Andrew Wiggins and his freakish athleticism. Many teams tanked to land such a deft talent with his defensive-minded instincts. There hasn't been a player with so much potential coming into the league since LeBron was drafted. His game is raw and still needs much work but considering his abilities and his pedigree I think that Minnesota should expect all-star appearances and leadership in the not too distant future. They now have a young face of the franchise to pair with Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pokovic, and young up-and-comers 6'5" PG Zach LaVine and SG Glenn Robinson III. The future is very bright in Minnesota and I am a fan for the long haul.

What the trade does for Philadelphia:

Philadelphia loses the final player from their 2011-2012 playoff team that upset the Chicago Bulls in the first round and eventually took the Boston Celtics to a game seven. The 76ers are now among the league's bottom dwellers and in tank mode yet again. They are arguably worse than last years's 19-63 season considering that their top pick Joel Embiid is on the shelf for some time, possibly not available to play until next year. They are looking at next year's draft class more than anything else at this point.

The trade does give the 20 year old Embiid a mentor from his native country of Cameroon. There is the possibility of a new "twin towers" with the development of big men Nerlens Noel and Embiid and if the 76ers can nail their draft picks over the next couple of years they may become relevant once again.