The latest Woj piece on the eventual trade of Kevin Love out of Minnesota centers on the Celtics.
Still, Boston is the sleeper gathering momentum in a process that is still beginning to unfold. The three top prospects in the draft – Kansas’ Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins and Duke’s Jabari Parker – could become franchise cornerstone players in the NBA. Nevertheless, Boston has multiple picks to offer in the next several years as part of a total package for Love, as well as the salary-cap space to perhaps take back an unwanted contract from Minnesota.
Love’s agent Jeff Schwartz and Ainge have a strong relationship and a good working history. Ainge helped another Schwartz client, Paul Pierce, get to a preferred trade destination in Brooklyn a year ago. The Celtics believe they can sell Love on becoming the next big Celtics star, and all the adulation that comes with that for a franchise that has won 17 NBA championships.
The piece suggests the Celtics falling to the 5th pick could still be a high enough lottery pick for the Timberwolves to bite on the right package. What that package would have to include, I’m not sure, but I assume there would have to be multiple draft picks involved from the C’s stockpile, a few of our non-guaranteed deals, and at least one of either Jared Sullinger or Kelly Olynyk.
I simply cannot believe that the Celtics and Timberwolves could repeat history like this. For the few of you who don’t remember how Kevin Garnett got here, it’s because the Celtics fell to the 5th pick (which actually got traded to Seattle for Ray Allen) and put together a package for Minnesota that included a promising young forward named Al Jefferson.
I would hate to see Sullinger or Olynyk go in this scenario. And I’m not sure if another player or contract would have to be involved on Minnesota’s side. But if we’re able to pair Love and Rondo together, it’d go a long way in getting the Celtics back into the top half of playoff seeds. They’d have two legitimate All Stars playing in their prime. A trade this summer for Love could be part of a set of moves that bring the Celtics back there next season.
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