Jan 24, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin ove (42) reacts after suffering an injury against the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Timberwolves defeated the Warriors 121-120. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
I think it’s safe to say, at this point in the offseason period, that if anyone is going to trade for Kevin Love (at the moment) it’s going to be the Golden State Warriors.
You know, if the Warriors can get out of their own ineptness.
And at the moment, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
According to reports, the Warriors are fine with dealing for Kevin Love — as long as they don’t have to part ways with Klay Thompson.
Wait…
Yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. There are people in the Golden State Organization that are not willing to essentially OK a swap between Thompson and Love. This is really happening.
And that has created an impasse between the two team’s talks:
"What is being described as an “organizational split” on the willingness to part with prized shooting guard Klay Thompson has led to an impasse in the Golden State Warriors’ trade pursuit of All-Star forward Kevin Love, according to sources close to the process.After it appeared that the Warriors were prepared to part with Thompson in a deal to land Minnesota’s Love, sources told ESPN.com that Hall of Fame consultant Jerry West and new Warriors coach Steve Kerr have voiced opposition to surrendering both Thompson and a future first-round pick to the Timberwolves along with former All-Star forward David Lee for Love and Wolves guard Kevin Martin.Others in the Warriors’ organization are said to be willing to surrender Thompson if it means landing Love, who is widely regarded as the marquee name on this offseason’s trade market. But sources say the talks, which were gathering momentum in advance of the upcoming NBA Draft, have stalled."
There are a few things about this that really doesn’t make sense for the Warriors. For one, are they willing to pay Thompson (assuming they get Love) the type of pay he’s going to warrant once his rookie contract is up? Is he worth getting paid something close to a max deal, if not one?
Furthermore, I’m not sure if Golden State ranks atop Love’s wish list of landing spots, but it’s 100-times better than Minnesota (at the moment). Giving up David Lee, Thompson and a future first-round pick isn’t too much for the type of player many of us believe Love is/will be.
Last offseason, the Warriors failed in their attempt to snag Dwight Howard. How much of a tease would their organization be to their fans if they fail to acquire Love, especially when it feels and looks like they are the favorites?
Klay Thompson is a really nice player, but the Warriors need to get over themselves if they believe it’s a better investment to keep him instead of acquiring Kevin Love.
While we don’t know what kind of player Love can be, he definitely has a higher ceiling than the flame-throwing Thompson. The Golden State Warriors need to step back and really analyze this situation that they’re essentially sabotaging — if indeed the only thing standing between Love coming to the Bay area is Klay Thompson.