Love wants out by July 1st

[gpap]

Kevin Love is a lot like Rudy Gay. A me-first stat padding player who doesn't actually make his team all that much better. I'd love to see them join forces in Sacramento, before Love leaves them high and dry.

Disagree with this on so many levels, I don't know where to begin.

It's like, do we not want to see good players on the Celtics?

[gpap]

    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.

    The Kings know they?d have to gamble on convincing Love to re-sign, given that the franchise is rebuilding and Love is looking to play for a contender after never reaching the playoffs with the Timberwolves. Love?s suitors also figure to include a number of bigger markets, including the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls.

    Love?s representatives with Excel Sports have pushed Timberwolves president Flip Saunders to find an acceptable trade prior to the start of free agency in July. Without a trade, Love plans to opt out of his contract in the summer of 2015 and likely leave Minnesota as a free agent.

From Yahoo! Marc Spears, unfortunately it isn't the god Adrian Woj, but... if this is true, Danny Ainge should jump on this.

Love will be better than ANYONE we can get at the sixth pick... I don't get why people are hesitant on trading for Love, did anyone honestly think the sheer amount of picks we had wouldn't be used for bringing in Allstars?

If we bring in Love, Melo who might have no choice, but to stay on the Knicks this year, might want to force a trade to BOS during next years trade deadline.

Makes two of us! I don't understand why anyone would be hesitant on trading for Love, either

[Lucky17]

Look how much better Toronto got after trading Gay to Sac for a bunch of role players. Minny can be a better team post-Love as well, as Pekovic was way under-utilized while Love was getting his.

But also, look how much getter Gay got playing with a legit low-post threat like Cousins and a creator like Isaiah Thomas.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-rudy-gay-principle/

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1938134-the-real-reasons-behind-rudy-gays-revival-with-sacramento-kings

Context matters.

[D.o.s.]

I bet if he was black someone would've already called him a malcontent or a team cancer.
#MakingTheMostOfHisLimitedAbility







 

What is with you, dude?

 

[LooseCannon]

Kevin Love is a lot like Rudy Gay. A me-first stat padding player who doesn't actually make his team all that much better. I'd love to see them join forces in Sacramento, before Love leaves them high and dry.

Disagree with this on so many levels, I don't know where to begin.

It's like, do we not want to see good players on the Celtics?

You could begin by pointing out that Kevin Love is an efficient scorer while Rudy Gay is an inefficient scorer.

[gpap]

Kevin Love is a lot like Rudy Gay. A me-first stat padding player who doesn't actually make his team all that much better. I'd love to see them join forces in Sacramento, before Love leaves them high and dry.

Disagree with this on so many levels, I don't know where to begin.

It's like, do we not want to see good players on the Celtics?

You could begin by pointing out that Kevin Love is an efficient scorer while Rudy Gay is an inefficient scorer.

That would be a good start

[Endless Paradise]

Ray Allen is a lot like Antoine Walker. A me-first stat padding player who doesn't actually make his team all that much better.

[Sizzlack]

I wonder if these comments had anything to do with the early exit.

"About his teammate Kevin Love, the Spanish point guard says that "he is a special player, the numbers that he puts up are incredible, but still the leader has to be somebody else (...) He leads in scoring, in other things, but in voice he is not the type of player that wants to be or that can be, no? There are different types of leaders. Still, it did not have to have been him, it should have been Kevin Martin, with a little more experience, or even I can take a step further and start to be the definitive leader."

Precisely why I want to see him in Boston. This falls in line with what I assumed on Love. He's just not an emotion leader, he's not the guy who's going to embrace the role.

Rondo, on the other hand, seems to have embraced that roll whole-heartedly, even from the sideline while he was out with the injury, you could constantly see him talking to players, coaching, prodding, always involved. He really seems to have embraced the idea of picking up the torch where Pierce/KG left off, and being the leadership presence for his team.

I think playing with Rondo would be perfect for KLove, they'd compliment each other well on and off the court.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24567783/ricky-rubio-questions-kevin-loves-leadership

[Lucky17]

Even after translation, you get the sense that there's something missing in what Rubio means and how this comes off in English. Either way "still the leader has to be somebody else" and "in voice he is not the type of player that wants to be or can be" a leader is pretty rough stuff from a teammate.

The comments also come at a time where Love is involved in trade rumors with as many as seven teams after the Wolves changed their position from "absolutely not trading Kevin Love" to "open to the idea."

And while Rubio says that he needs to be a better leader and is focusing on the team, it's still a criticism of a teammate that's considering forcing his way out. Considering how many assists Love provides Rubio, Rubio's only real statistical contribution offensively since he can't shoot at all, that may not be appreciated. We'll see if Rubio clarifies his comments later.

I do wonder about the translation here. Because it sounds like Rubio isn't looking to mend fences at all. He's already started moving on; Love is gone.

[NorthernLightning]

So now Rondo is a great leader all of a sudden? Did he adapt his game at all last year? He and Love are two of the biggest stat padders in the league, and if Stevens had sat Rondo down for not playing team first ball last year, it would have been ugly and toxic.

Rondo just wants to pound the ball and get the assist, everything else be darned.

[NorthernLightning]

Even if we did get Love, and even if he did re-sign, he'd be whining and pouting as soon as any adversity hit. Give me a break.

[Celtics18]

I bet if he was black someone would've already called him a malcontent or a team cancer.
#MakingTheMostOfHisLimitedAbility







 

Kevin Love is definitely a malcontent.  That's why he wants out of Minnesota. 

Kevin Garnett wasn't content there either (although, he did try to tough it out quite a bit longer).  These are the kinds of situations that you've got to try to jump on. 

All of a sudden, a player of Kevin Love's caliber becomes available for relatively cheap, precisely because he is malcontent in his current situation.

It's a long list of malcontents who chose to go elsewhere either by waiting until free agency, or forcing a pre-emptive trade:

Kevin Garnett
Shaquille O'Neal
Lebron James
Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Carmelo Anthony
Dwight Howard

 

Let's get Love and make him content. 

[gpap]

Even if we did get Love, and even if he did re-sign, he'd be whining and pouting as soon as any adversity hit. Give me a break.

Lol...you have no proof or evidence of that.

Now you're just spouting off random things because you don't want to see Love on the Celts, for whatever reason.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I would love it if we got Love for something like the 6th pick and Sully + Bogans, but I would be real nervous about it if he didn't resign.  I would also like it if we waited until 2015 to get the requisite 3rd superstar, since that free agent class will be great and we will have a lot more money on hand.  I am scared if we tried that with Love not under contract, he would bolt the first chance he got and we'd be out Sully and the 6th overall pick so Love could join the Lakers.

[D.o.s.]

I understand the logic of wanting to play in Los Angeles, but if Love is really apathetic to winning games (which a move to the Lakers would tacitly confirm) why wouldn't he just take the larger paycheck, stay in Minnesota, and continue to rot in mediocrity there?