Love teaming up with James in Cleveland with championship in their sights…
The Cleveland Cavaliers have completed a trade deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire power forward Kevin Love which in turn pairs him with LeBron James.
The Cavs, Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers completed a delayed trade which had been speculated for months after it was put on hold for 30 days due to Andrew Wiggins being ineligible for trade.
However, the rookie has now secured his move to Minnesota along with former top pick Anthony Bennett, while Thaddeus Young moves from Philadelphia and a $6.3m trade exception.
The Sixers receive a 2015 first-round draft choice along with guard Alexey Shved and forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute from the TImberwolves, but it is undoubtedly Love’s move to the Eastern Conference which dominates the headlines.
The 25-year-old joins James to make the Cavs an NBA title favourite, forming their own Big Three along with point guard Kyrie Irving as they will likely be the team to beat next year leading the Chicago Bulls.
Cleveland first secured Irving’s long-term future this summer as part of their overall strategy before moving to re-sign James from the Heat.
However, they have been forced to wait to secure the final piece of their puzzle, and the franchise undoubtedly now have a daunting roster which will be expected to go on and compete for championships on a regular basis in the coming years.
“Kevin joining the Cavaliers represents a very special and unique opportunity for our team,” Cavs general manager David Griffin said in a release.
“At only 25, Kevin has already firmly established himself as one of the NBA’s elite players and his talent, versatility and fit are major parts of our team’s vision for success.”
While the Timberwolves thanked Love for all his contributions during his time with the organisation, the power forward is coming off the back of his best season after averaging career highs in points (26.1) and assists (4.4) while grabbing 12.5 rebounds per game and shooting 37.6 percent from three-point range.
Nevertheless, Minnesota missed out on the playoffs and ultimately Love has opted to move on in search of winning a championship while the ‘Wolves will now continue to rebuild with various young pieces on their roster.
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