More than two weeks after it was first reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves agreed in principle to the trade, it is now 100 percent official – Kevin Love will be headed to Cleveland, arriving from the Timberwolves in a trade that now includes the Philadelphia 76ers as the third team.
Originally, the trade was mainly to involve All-Star power forward Love moving from Minnesota to Cleveland, with the Cavs sending first-overall picks Anthony Bennett (2013) and Andrew Wiggins (2014) to the Timberwolves in exchange. Indeed, that part of the trade has pushed forward, as promising youngsters Bennett and Wiggins will be suiting up for the Wolves in the 2014-15 NBA season. However, the Timberwolves will also be getting a third player, forward Thaddeus Young, with Minnesota trading Alexey Shved, Luc Mbah a Boute and a 2015 first-round pick (acquired from the Miami, via the Cavs) to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Both Cleveland and Minnesota had no choice but to merely agree in principle when the trade was first mooted; this was because Wiggins could not be traded elsewhere within 30 days of signing his rookie contract. But with that 30-day period having expired on Saturday, Wiggins is now officially with Minnesota, where he should face great expectations as the savior of a team that hadn’t had much success in recent years, even with Love and point guard Ricky Rubio leading the way.
The big news, however, is Love moving to the Cavaliers, where he shall be forming a new “Big Three” with free agent signing and “prodigal son” LeBron James and point guard Kyrie Irving. This automatically makes the Cavs a sure contender for the NBA Finals, and maybe their first NBA championship in team history, and James’ first wearing the wine and gold colors of Cleveland.