NBA

Ranking the most likely trade destinations for Kevin Love

In the wake of the NBA’s Draft lottery Tuesday, with the draft itself still a month away and the playoffs still going on, one of the biggest stories around the league is where Kevin Love will play next season.

The Timberwolves star hasn’t been pleased with the organization since previous general manager David Kahn chose not to give him the five-year deal he was openly asking for, the two sides instead agreeing to a four-year deal with an opt-out after three years. Now, after two straight years of missing the playoffs, Love is essentially entering the final year of that contract before he turns down the option and enters free agency.

If he does, he’ll have no shortage of suitors, thanks to his combination of terrific rebounding and 3-point shooting at power forward. After posting a season with averages of 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting over 37 percent from behind the arc, his credentials as a star are unquestioned.

That’s why there’s talk Minnesota may be open to the possibility of moving Love — potentially by the start of the draft — in order to maximize the return and avoid losing him for nothing as a free agent next summer. So where might Love end up? Here are eight possible destinations:

8. Knicks

The Knicks are only on this list because they have been mentioned as thinking they have a shot at securing Love’s services via trade between now and the trade deadline next February.

However, the fact is the Knicks are nowhere near the same position they were in back in 2011, when they pursued and successfully landed Carmelo Anthony. In that trade, the Knicks sent three young players — Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov — plus a first-round pick, the rights to swap another and a pair of second-rounders to Denver for Anthony.

This time around, the Knicks are virtually devoid of assets. They don’t own a draft pick they can trade until 2018, and only have two young players with any value in Tim Hardaway Jr. and Iman Shumpert — neither of whom has the value to front a potential trade for a star player such as Love.

Yes, the Knicks have some massive expiring contracts, but cap space doesn’t mean nearly as much to a team such as Minnesota that is never going to be a free agent destination. The bottom line is the rest of the teams on this list will easily be able to offer a better package for Love.

7. Lakers

A Kobe Bryant/Love combination could revitalize the Lakers.AP

Rumored to be Love’s preferred destination if he makes it to free agency, the Lakers are always itching to chase the next star name on the market — and never more so than now, coming off one of the worst seasons in their illustrious history.

After signing Kobe Bryant to a contract that will pay him more than any other NBA player each of the next two seasons, the Lakers would love nothing more than to pair him with a second star this summer. The problem is, like the Knicks, the Lakers have very little to offer in exchange.

Yes, they could take on some bad contracts — like the remaining three years and roughly $21 million on Kevin Martin’s deal — because their books are virtually empty besides Bryant’s bloated deal, but the only real asset the Lakers have to send Minnesota’s way is the seventh pick in the 2014 Draft and their first-round pick in 2016.

6. Rockets

Given Houston’s penchant for 3-point shooting and the presence of Dwight Howard, a Love trade to the Rockets would make all the sense in the world from a roster construction standpoint. The Rockets possess all of their first-round picks, as well as a second-round pick this year and three extra seconds in next year’s draft — not to mention several interesting young players on their roster, including Chandler Parsons, Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas.

But the problem for the Rockets is the only likely ways to make the money work would be to find takers for Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik — who will combine to make $30 million in real money next season, but only about $16.7 million on the cap — without taking any money back, or by convincing the Wolves to take them both, which seems unlikely.

The other way to make the money work would be to offer up James Harden in a straight swap of stars, but it’s hard to see the Rockets pulling the trigger on such a deal after the way Harden has played there — even when taking into account his terrible defense.

5. Warriors

Stephen Curry and Love would be a frightening scoring combination.Getty Images

Golden State has been hailed as one of Love’s top potential destinations. Lining him up next to an elite defensive center such as Andrew Bogut, an elite perimeter defender in Andre Iguodala and the league’s best shooter in Stephen Curry has the makings of a spectacular team for new coach Steve Kerr in the Bay Area.

But there’s one problem: Golden State gave up many of its best assets last summer, when it made its big all-in move to acquire Iguodala in a sign-and-trade from Denver as a free agent. Because of that trade, Golden State has only one draft pick — its 2015 first-rounder — to trade before 2019.

Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes are interesting young players with potentially high upsides — though Barnes had a rough second season — but the Timberwolves likely would have to take on the more than $30 million owed to David Lee through 2016, which isn’t exactly an appealing proposition.

Perhaps the Warriors can move Lee somewhere else to make their offer a bit more appealing, but Minnesota likely will be able to find better trades than Thompson, Barnes, Lee and a 2015 pick that will likely be in the low 20s.

4. Bulls

The Bulls have an intriguing combination of assets to send Minnesota’s way, including a pair of picks in this year’s draft and three more in next year’s. They also have the rights to Nikola Mirotic, a 23-year-old from Montenegro who was drafted by the Bulls in 2011 and who helped Real Madrid reach the Euroleague Final last weekend. There’s no question about Love agreeing to stay with the Bulls long-term. He could form a potentially devastating Big Three with Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose — assuming Rose can return healthy from his latest knee injury.

The issues for the Bulls are two-fold: 1. To make the trade, they either would have to send Carlos Boozer and his bloated $16.8 million salary to Minnesota, or some combination of Taj Gibson and other contracts. 2. None of the picks Chicago would be sending Minnesota’s way likely would be top-10 selections.

3. Celtics

Can Danny Ainge (left) pull off another blockbuster trade and give Brad Stevens a chance to compete in Year 2?AP

The Celtics are well positioned to make a play for Love, holding up to nine combined first-round picks over the next five years — including as many as five over the next two seasons (more likely four). Because the Celtics will have salary cap room, they could potentially make a Love trade without giving up anything other than, say, Brandon Bass’ $6.9 million expiring contract.

The bigger issue is whether Love would agree to waive his opt-out and sign a long-term deal with the Celtics. They would have to be confident in their chances to re-sign Love before making such a dramatic move. Boston never has been a free agent magnet, with most of its team-building success coming either through draft picks or trades. This trade would leave them with Love, Rajon Rondo and a lot of question marks.

Still, Danny Ainge is known for being aggressive, and he’s built up this cache of draft picks to either rebuild the team through the draft or do it quickly through trades, as he did in bringing in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett back in 2007. There’s no question he’ll keep an eye on these proceedings.

2. Suns

Phoenix presents a unique trade partner for Minnesota on several levels. First, the Suns control the Timberwolves’ first-round pick (though it’s top-12 protected the next two seasons), which would make for an appealing asset to get back. The Suns also have three picks in this draft — though none higher than the 14th overall selection — and the very intriguing Lakers pick next season, which easily could be a lottery selection (top-five protected).

Another thing working in Phoenix’s favor is its cap situation. The Suns would be able to take Love without sending any contracts back to Minnesota — and could even take back a bad contract or two thanks to a bevy of expiring contracts, including several non-guaranteed deals. And that’s without the potential of adding Eric Bledsoe — who will be a restricted free agent — to the package.

Phoenix has proven to be a free-agent destination in the past. The presence of a bright young coach in Jeff Hornacek and a terrific point guard in Goran Dragic should be enough to convince Love to stick around for the long term, making the Suns a very intriguing suitor.

1. Cavaliers

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love … and LeBron James?Getty Images

If you’re going to trade a star player like Kevin Love, what’s the thing you need in return more than anything else? A chance at replacing that star with another one.

Well, no team can provide this better than Cleveland, which possesses the No. 1 pick in this year’s loaded draft — allowing the Timberwolves to choose among Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker to build around moving forward.

The Cavaliers have plenty of cap room to absorb Love’s contract, as well as additional picks in coming years — including a potential lottery pick next year from Memphis, which suddenly looks as if it could be in free fall.

The risk for Cleveland would be in convincing Love to stay there when his contract expires. With point guard Kyrie Irving already in place, owner Dan Gilbert could take a swing at Love … with the ultimate hope of luring back LeBron James in as a free agent in one of the next two offseasons.

Any LeBron hypotheticals aside, if the Cavaliers dangle the No. 1 pick in exchange for Love, it’s hard to see the Timberwolves finding a better deal.