Obligatory Kevin Love Update, Lynx host Mercury

Hello, everyone. Just wanted to make it known that my Macbook powered down last night, and has yet to return to working condition. I'm typing this on a PC that's over five years old, at my Mother's house, and browsing the web using Mozilla Firefox. This should be interesting. Please send help.

Last last night, ESPN's Mark Stein and Brian Windhorst published a column --you can read it by clicking this link-- explaining the Minnesota Timberwolves trading Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Andrew Wiggins is, essentially, inevitable. The article cites an (anonymous) source who, on Wednesday, told ESPN LeBron James is already "looking forward" to the prospect of welcoming Love as his newest teammate.

Wiggins is not eligible to be dealt until Aug. 23 after signing his rookie contract last week, but numerous league insiders -- some of whom are gathered in Las Vegas for this week's Team USA training camp -- have begun to describe a Love-to-Cleveland trade as a "when" transaction as opposed to an "if."

In other news; fire is hot, water is wet, and the sun will rise on Friday morning the same way it will on Saturday.

Love will not participate in the upcoming FIBA World Cup because of his 'current status.' Although, Team USA Managing Director Jerry Colangelo states Love hasn't lost any equity when it comes to his relationship with the program. And considering how emotional Love was when he broke the news to Colangelo last week, he certainly isn't questioning how much he cares-- according to USA Today.

Those, like the many of you who are reading this, who have followed the situation surrounding Love closely with vested interest understand that the Wolves' acquisition of Mo Williams was, and is, a precursor that a deal with the Cavaliers may already be in place.

As Britt Robson writes in his column published yesterday, 'the Wolves wouldn't be making this sort of move unless they had a pretty clear idea of how they will ransack the roster between now and the onset of the 2014-15 season.' Robson, like many, believes the consensus is that Love will be traded in exchange for the top pick in the last two college drafts (Wiggins and Anthony Bennett), among other assets. Bennett's agent, Jeff Schwartz, who also represents Love, recently removed the number one selection taken in the 2013 from the Toronto Pro-Am.

Timberwolves PR announced yesterday that the team officially signed Williams to what is reported to be a one year, $3.75 million dollar deal, although details of the contract were not released because of team policy. "We are excited to bring Mo into the fold this season," said Flip Saunders. "His veteran leadership and excellent three-point shooting ability will be a valuable addition to our team."

The assumed acquisition Wiggins and Bennett, in addition to Williams, stabilizes the roster to the point where it wouldn't be a farfetched thought to consider the Wolves as 'pretenders' with an outside shot at making the postseason, next year. If Thad Young, who Saunders reportedly covets as Love's replacement (for lack of a better word), comes over in a three-way trade involving the Philadelphia 76ers, it would put Minnesota in a position where the team would possess enough talent to be considered competent among the Western Conference, but not yet good enough to be considered 'contenders' for one of the eight playoff spots.

Andy G illuminated the Wolves' potential to become caught between a rock and a hard place, as the saying goes, this morning over at Punch-Drunk Wolves. Andy cites this ESPN column, which explains that lottery-reform measures were introduced earlier this month at league meetings in Las Vegas, and the NBA Board of Governors could vote changes into place at its preseason meeting in October.

Although there are several facets and the proposals haven't been finalized, the goal of commissioner Adam Silver is to balance out the lottery odds so the worst team or teams wouldn't have the highest chances of landing the top pick, sources said.

Timberwolves' Owner Glen Taylor recently became the Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors, but only on an interim basis. A replacement for Taylor is expected to be announced at the aforementioned October meeting.

Elsewhere, the Lynx, currently on a seven game winning streak, host the Phoenix Mercury, who haven't lost in 16 games. The Mercury have established themselves as the best team in the WNBA, but now that the Lynx are fully healthy, they will look to challenge.

The game is at 7:00 pm Central, and if you are looking for something to do you really ought to go. The two best teams in the league going at it.

It's also going to be televised on NBA TV.