Wolves confident that the right coach will keep Love in Minnesota
Timberwolves are discussing Kevin Love trade scenarios w/ teams, but made it clear deal's unlikely until they've hired a coach. sources say.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 4, 2014
Once Wolves hire coach, they'll likely try to sell Love again on a vision and direction. For now, his stance hasn't changed: He wants out.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 4, 2014
I've got the PERFECT coach for Kevin Love. His name is Brad Stevens.
I understand the Wolves position here. You can't flat out say that you're seriously negotiating with teams before the draft and you can't flat out tell your fans that your franchise player is out the door. You can't do that anywhere... but you especially can't if you're Minnesota and you're dealing with Boston.
I asked a friend of mine from Minnesota an honest question: what would you take for Kevin Love? I was expecting him to say "Sullinger, all of you draft picks from 2014-18, and a 2007-08 NBA Championship ring just to see what it looks like on my finger." What he replied with was way more telling.
Yowza. We, as a city, have WORKED that entire state. You come here from Minnesota, and you get championship opportunity after championship opportunity. If I were Flip Saunders or a Wolves fan, I wouldn't want to trade with Boston either. If history counts for anything, it means the former Minnesota fan favorite will probably do much better with BOSTON on his home jersey. In the back of my mind, though, I would know that I probably should.
Given the haul that Minnesota could net from a deal with the Celtics, they should let the any Garnett related bitterness slide. I mean- c'mon. He dedicated the winning of a championship to "all the people back in 'Sota." That counts for something, right?
We didn't tell the Wolves front office to trade Al Jefferson or take Johnny Flynn and Ricky Rubio in the same draft. That was David Kahn. So point the angst at him, and while you're at it, just slide us over one of the best big men in basketball and we'll handle it from here.
Follow Padraic on Twitter @padraic_oconnor