MacMullan: Love-to-Celtics far from slam dunk

[staticcc]

Not so fast (recent rumors)

- Buzz around #NBA is #Kings leaders in Kevin Love sweepstakes when/if occur. Don't care about extension. Will trade anything but Cousins

- Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive is aggressive in his desire to see the Kings win ASAP and would take the chance of dealing for Love, as long as it doesn?t cost him Cousins.

- Love can become a free agent after the coming season, but that would not stop the Kings from acquiring him. The Kings traded for Rudy Gay knowing he could leave after this season

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/04/6458457/report-minnesota-discussing-deals.html

Jason Jones: Can confirm the Kings have made calls about Kevin Love. Won't trade Cousins to get him, but anyone else is fair game. Twitter @mr_jasonjones

Papers need to sell copies, websites need clicks, and Love is a hot topic.

There are rules in professional soccer which are there to prevent tampering, too, and yet, top teams circumvent them all the time.

It all depends on Kevin Love. The same Kevin Love who already made a very public visit to Boston, and only Boston, who has the same agent as Paul Pierce. An agent who is on good terms with Ainge.

It's a done deal, man, with wink, nudge, handshake and everything. All that's left is Love's John Hancock under a new contract. Nothing we can do. Love's agent would lose all credibility if he decides to back out of it.

The Timberwolves are just throwing a fit because we're basically forcing them into submission to take our offer.

Your confidence that this is done is off the charts! I hope you're right but if you're not, get ready to eat the humble pie. Can't mislead fans and say deals are done unless you are in Ainge's and Flip's circles.

[obnoxiousmime]

Imo your the troll and do not read the details.  I explained to you , it's not ultimately up to him where he is traded to. Just bc he wants to play for the Lakers, its not like the Wolves Gm will bow to him and grant his wish. 

In theory, yes. Not in reality, though.

The only person who decides where Kevin Love will end up is Love himself. He can leave any potential new team after one year. I know it's not what americans are used to, but that's the reality of professional sports, nowadays. The players have all the power.

As I said, I'm confident it's already a done deal. We're just trying to make it look like it's not, to avoid any accusations of tampering.

Not so fast (recent rumors)

- Buzz around #NBA is #Kings leaders in Kevin Love sweepstakes when/if occur. Don't care about extension. Will trade anything but Cousins

- Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive is aggressive in his desire to see the Kings win ASAP and would take the chance of dealing for Love, as long as it doesn?t cost him Cousins.

- Love can become a free agent after the coming season, but that would not stop the Kings from acquiring him. The Kings traded for Rudy Gay knowing he could leave after this season

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/06/04/6458457/report-minnesota-discussing-deals.html

Jason Jones: Can confirm the Kings have made calls about Kevin Love. Won't trade Cousins to get him, but anyone else is fair game. Twitter @mr_jasonjones

The fact that Sacramento is interested even without a re-sign guarantee is old news. This doesn't change the situation at all because even if Minnesota decides Sac has the best offer,  Love will tell the Kings he doesn't want to go there and then Sacramento and Minnesota will be forced to make a tough decision. Do they want to play hardball and make the trade anyway even though Love is unwilling? Or do they acquiesce to Love's preferences? All Love has to do is threaten not to report or demand a new trade. Even though the chances of a player not reporting is minimal, most teams don't want the PR nightmare of a player threatening to hold out.

This is why if you're going to deal a star and get the best return, the best time is two years before their contract is up like Utah did with Deron Williams. The problem is most teams who are in this situation are desperate to keep their star and hopeful the team will improve enough in the next 1-2 seasons. For most teams it never happens, though recently Portland probably avoided an Aldridge defection by playing well this year.

[colincb]

Love had better defensive ratings than LBJ in 2013-14.

Of course he did. Love was inside just waiting for opportunities to block shots plus Pekovic was there helping him. If Lebron just hanged in the paint with Pekovic alongside him, his D ratings would spike I guarantee you.

Love is a better defender than Pekovic. Pekovic is a below average defender ranking 265 out of 482 NBA players last year in defensive points allowed per possession. He is an average shot blocker as is Love. We're not talking about Russell bailing out his teamates here when you're talking about Pekovic. He's part of the T-Wolves defensive problems. An offensive big like most Euro bigs.

LBJ is clearly a better defender statistically than Love over his career. Last year he wasn't. Lastly, Love has been a better than average NBA defender statistically for the last three years.

[staticcc]

Love had better defensive ratings than LBJ in 2013-14.

Of course he did. Love was inside just waiting for opportunities to block shots plus Pekovic was there helping him. If Lebron just hanged in the paint with Pekovic alongside him, his D ratings would spike I guarantee you.

Love is a better defender than Pekovic. Pekovic is a below average defender ranking 265 out of 482 NBA players last year in defensive points allowed per possession. He is an average shot blocker as is Love. We're not talking about Russell bailing out his teamates here when you're talking about Pekovic. He's part of the T-Wolves defensive problems. An offensive big like most Euro bigs.

LBJ is clearly a better defender statistically than Love over his career. Last year he wasn't. Lastly, Love has been a better than average NBA defender statistically for the last three years.

Not saying Pekovic is a better defender, I was saying Pekovic (6'11) is there to help Love whereas Lebron had Bosh? Love was hanging in the paint providing help-defense most times whereas Lebron was guarding players 1 on 1. The stats may not show it but video will. And besides, what does having better ratings than LBJ for ONE YEAR prove?

[chambers]

Sorry for comparing you to a troll earlier Triboy. I know you love the team.

I understand you don't wanna give up the farm for Love. None of us do.
We don't have to give up the farm because we have draft picks. This is why Danny collects so many- so when opportunities like this one arise, then he's ready to go to work.

Let me ask you a question. If you were the owner of the Kings and it was your money/franchise etc, would you deal your 2014 and 2015 pick+Mclemore+Rudy Gay for Kevin Love?

Now, I'll ask you the same question, except imagine that Love's agent and the media are reporting that Love will not play for Sacramento or sign an extension for Sacramento and is not interested in playing there. Ie he's saying he'll do what Dwight did to the Lakers.

Now if you said yes to the first question, would you still say yes to the second question?


You're a guy like me who loves hard workers. I also love efficient players- those that make the most of their opportunities. Now he isn't the greatest defender, but his offense and rebounding are so good that it MORE than makes up for it. Also remember he's on a poor defensive team, so he must deal with more players around the rim than he would on a team with good perimeter defense. (Avery Bradley or Rondo for example wouldn't let players get to the rim as easily as Rubio which takes pressure off Kevin Love. Kevin Love's defensive rating is 104- the same as Durant's.

His Win shares are also the 3rd highest in the NBA behind Durant and Lebron. This number represents the amount of wins that each player produces for his team per 48 minutes. He's third in the league lol.

Lets look at Kevin Love's numbers:

Player Efficiency Rating
1.   Kevin Durant-OKC   29.8
2.   LeBron James-MIA   29.3
3.   Kevin Love-MIN   26.9
4.   Anthony Davis-NOP   26.5
5.   DeMarcus Cousins-SAC   26.1
6.   Chris Paul-LAC   25.9
7.   Carmelo Anthony-NYK   24.4
8.   Stephen Curry-GSW   24.1
9.   Blake Griffin-LAC   23.9
10.   Dirk Nowitzki-DAL   23.6
11.   James Harden-HOU   23.5
12.   Al Jefferson-CHA   22.7
13.   Andre Drummond-DET   22.6
14.   Dwyane Wade-MIA   22.0
15.   LaMarcus Aldridge-POR   21.8
16.   Goran Dragic-PHO   21.4
17.   Tim Duncan-SAS   21.3
18.   Dwight Howard-HOU   21.3
19.   Nikola Pekovic-MIN   20.7
20.   Isaiah Thomas-SAC   20.5

Total Rebounds
1.   DeAndre Jordan-LAC   1114
2.   Andre Drummond-DET   1071
3.   Kevin Love-MIN   963
4.   Joakim Noah-CHI   900
5.   Dwight Howard-HOU   866
6.   DeMarcus Cousins-SAC   831
7.   Zach Randolph-MEM   795
8.   Al Jefferson-CHA   792
9.   Marcin Gortat-WAS   767
10.   LaMarcus Aldridge-POR   765
11.   Greg Monroe-DET   760
12.   Blake Griffin-LAC   757
13.   Tristan Thompson-CLE   754
14.   Tim Duncan-SAS   721
15.   Jonas Valanciunas-TOR   714
16.   Serge Ibaka-OKC   709
17.   Robin Lopez-POR   700
18.   Kenneth Faried-DEN   684
19.   Anthony Davis-NOP   673
20.   Andrew Bogut-GSW   671

Points
1.   Kevin Durant-OKC   2593
2.   Carmelo Anthony-NYK   2112
3.   LeBron James-MIA   2089
4.   Kevin Love-MIN   2010
5.   Blake Griffin-LAC   1930
6.   Stephen Curry-GSW   1873
7.   James Harden-HOU   1851
8.   DeMar DeRozan-TOR   1791
9.   Paul George-IND   1737
10.   Dirk Nowitzki-DAL   1735
11.   Damian Lillard-POR   1695
12.   DeMarcus Cousins-SAC   1614
13.   LaMarcus Aldridge-POR   1603
14.   Al Jefferson-CHA   1594


3-Pt Field Goals
1.   Stephen Curry-GSW   261
2.   Klay Thompson-GSW   223
3.   Damian Lillard-POR   218
4.   Gerald Green-PHO   204
5.   Wesley Matthews-POR   201
6.   Kevin Durant-OKC   192
7.   Jose Calderon-DAL   191
8.   Kevin Love-MIN   190
    Kyle Lowry-TOR   190
10.   Randy Foye-DEN   189
    J.R. Smith-NYK   189
12.   Kyle Korver-ATL   185
13.   Paul George-IND   182
14.   Trevor Ariza-WAS   180
15.   James Harden-HOU   177
16.   Carmelo Anthony-NYK   167
17.   Joe Johnson-BRK   162

True shooting percentage
1.   Kyle Korver-ATL   .653
2.   LeBron James-MIA   .649
3.   Kevin Durant-OKC   .635
4.   DeAndre Jordan-LAC   .630
5.   James Harden-HOU   .618
6.   Stephen Curry-GSW   .610
7.   Marco Belinelli-SAS   .605
8.   Robin Lopez-POR   .605
9.   Goran Dragic-PHO   .604
10.   Dirk Nowitzki-DAL   .603
11.   Kawhi Leonard-SAS   .603
12.   Jodie Meeks-LAL   .601
13.   Dwight Howard-HOU   .600
14.   Andre Drummond-DET   .600
15.   Chris Bosh-MIA   .597
16.   Amar'e Stoudemire-NYK   .596
17.   Jose Calderon-DAL   .596
18.   Paul Pierce-BRK   .595
19.   Amir Johnson-TOR   .592
20.   Kevin Love-MIN   .591

Win Shares
1.   Kevin Durant-OKC   19.2
2.   LeBron James-MIA   15.9
3.   Kevin Love-MIN   14.3
4.   Stephen Curry-GSW   13.4
5.   James Harden-HOU   12.8
6.   Blake Griffin-LAC   12.2
7.   Chris Paul-LAC   12.2
8.   Kyle Lowry-TOR   11.7
9.   Joakim Noah-CHI   11.2
10.   DeAndre Jordan-LAC   11.1
11.   Dirk Nowitzki-DAL   10.9
12.   Paul George-IND   10.8
13.   Carmelo Anthony-NYK   10.7
14.   Anthony Davis-NOP   10.4
15.   Goran Dragic-PHO   10.3
16.   Andre Drummond-DET   9.9
17.   Serge Ibaka-OKC   9.6
18.   Damian Lillard-POR   9.6
19.   Robin Lopez-POR   9.5
20.   DeMar DeRozan-TOR   8.

[chambers]

Via RealGM / Jackie McMullan

By visiting Boston last weekend, Kevin Love opened speculation that he would not only welcome a trade to the Celtics but also be open to signing a long-term contract with the team.

Love is willing to consider the scenario of a trade to the Celtics followed by an extension, according to sources.

However, the Minnesota Timberwolves are less than enamored with what the Celtics can offer them in a potential trade for Love. The Celtics could offer the No. 6 draft pick, the future selections from the Brooklyn Nets, the No. 17 pick and a combination of role players such as Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger.

The Timberwolves reportedly believe they have already fielded better trade offers, including from the Chicago Bulls.

Glen Taylor also has pause in regard to another major trade with the Celtics. Taylor gave the OK for Kevin McHale to deal Kevin Garnett to Boston in 2007.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, owners of the No. 1 overall pick, have interest in Love, but the feeling is not mutual, according to sources. [/b]

Posturing or do the Bulls have some magic package of Mirotic, Taj Gibson and a Charlotte pick? Even then do they trump us?

I tend to believe this signals that negotiations are pretty serious...although Amico's article suggested yesterday that the Celtics haven't made an offer officially yet?

[playdream]

You can't see effort by looking at the numbers, i think that's the point

[Future Celtics Owner]

However, the Minnesota Timberwolves are less than enamored with what the Celtics can offer them in a potential trade for Love. The Celtics could offer the No. 6 draft pick, the future selections from the Brooklyn Nets, the No. 17 pick and a combination of role players such as Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger.

IMO that is too much for Love. We should offer only what he is worth. What other pieces would we have left to get a big man. And Asik is not the answer for us at Center.

[chambers]

You can't see effort by looking at the numbers, i think that's the point

I'm not sure how you become the third highest PER and Win Shares in the entire NBA without effort. What about being third in the NBA at rebounding? Would you say rebounding takes effort?

[Birdman]

Minnesota cant let Love walk next year without getting nothing in return like when Bosh left Toronto and Amare left Phoenix after they told their teams they would probably leave..so Boston may have the best offer..And better get something than nothing

[gift]

Minnesota is angling for a better offer, but must be realistically considering the offer on the table from C's for their opinion of it to get out. Probably not far apart.

[rickyfan3.0...]

Doesn't totally make sense to me, if Love would not extend with the Bulls, why would they outbid us?

4 picks and our ONLY prospect is too much for Love. It is too soon for this type of deal, we haven't gathered enough assets yet. We'd be going all in on Rondo-Love and would have little left to get a 3rd 'star'.

[pokeKingCurtis]

but Love willing to extend w Celtics

OMG

omgomgomg

Screw what you're enamored with...K-Love has all the chips, and by extension (PUN) we do.

[MBunge]

I'm pretty confident Ainge is not offering Green, Sully and 4 1st rounders for Love.  Notice it only says Boston "could" give that to Minny.  The Twolves could be so afraid of fan reaction to ANOTHER rebuild that they could take a lesser offer from Chicago they think will keep them competitive in the short run, but there's nothing Ainge can do about that.

Mike

[BballTim]

Poor defensive effort left and right.  Again how does a PF shoot at around 44 percent and be considered a star?    Give the green light to Sullinger or KO to shoot 25-30 shots and lets see if they don't score 30 points also

  Love's a very efficient scorer. The fact that you don't understand that doesn't change things.