Love in Limbo, NBA Free Agency Madness, Timberwolves at Summer League

Yesterday was a monster day in NBA free agency, as LeBron James announced he was returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. That announcement sparked several other moves, headlined by Chris Bosh agreeing to return to the Miami Heat for a 5 year contract worth roughly $118M.

Bosh remains a terrific player, but is also over 30 years old. Miami will be paying for his decline, and as they appear likely to re-sign Dwyane Wade, they will be paying for his as well. Not a place I would want to be.

Bosh returning to Miami is a blow for the Rockets, who were looking to add him to their roster. They dumped Jeremy Lin to the Lakers earlier in the day to prepare to pay Bosh, but it never happened. They also now have two days to decide whether to match the Mavericks' offer sheet to Chandler Parsons. Unfortunately, Parsons is no longer eligible for a sign and trade, meaning the Rockets would have a hard time putting together an appealing offer for Kevin Love.

The Lakers were also very active, re-signing Nick Young (4/$21; blech), acquiring Lin, and also re-signing Jordan hill (2/$18, 2nd year team option).  They...aren't going to be very good, having spent their cap space on mediocrities.

The Cavs, as of last night, were insisting they would not trade Andrew Wiggins in a Love deal, which makes a deal all but impossible. Whether they mean it or are just posturing remains to be seen.

Elsewhere, Isaiah Thomas signed with the Phoenix Suns for 4/27, which seems like a good deal for the Suns, though if they also keep Eric Bledsoe (currently an RFA), that will be a talented but pricey and small back court along with Goran Dragic. There was momentary thought that this might open the way for Bledsoe or Dragic to wind up in Minnesota, but word has it that the Suns are planning to keep all three guards. Again, we'll see.

Pau Gasol was deciding between the Spurs and Bulls as of this writing, and no word from Carmelo Anthony. Where these players wind up (especially if Chicago is the destination for one of them) could also have a big effect on the Love situation, as the Bulls seem like a natural trade partner.

Jerry Zgoda reported on his blog yesterday that Flip Saunders has asked the Bulls for Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler, the rights to Nikola Mirotic, and Doug McDermott.  Well played, Flip. If you can get that deal, I'll be impressed.

OK, enough FA talk for the moment.

The Wolves open their summer league schedule today at 5:30 pm CDT against the summer Mavericks. The Wolves feature their draft picks the last two years--Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, and Glenn Robinson III.

I believe the game will stream on ESPN3, and will be replayed at 12:30 am Sunday morning on NBA TV. Yay. I beg of you not to take anything away from Summer League. Seriously. Please.

Zach is out there and will write a report for us, but you should also be following him on twitter @ZacharyBD.

The third place game at the World Cup is today at 3 pm CDT; Brazil vs. Netherlands. It's the game of sadness, and can be seen on ESPN.  The Final is Sunday.

Today in History

1109: Crusaders capture Tripoli
1191: Richard the Lion Hearted defeats Saracens in Palastine
1290: Jews expelled from England by King Edward I
1630: Governor of New Amsterdam buys what is now Ellis Island 
1679: King Charles II ratifies Habeas Corpus Act
1804: Alexander Hamilton dies from wounds sustained in duel with Aaron Burr
1906: Alfred Dreyfus found innocent in France
1933: Congress passes first minimum wage law
1967: 26 killed, hundreds injured in race riots in Newark, NJ
1972: George McGovern nominated by democrats in Miami

Today's musical birthday is Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, born in 1943

Have a great Saturday.