Naturally, there’s quite a bit of reaction floating around after yesterday’s news that Kevin Love is officially headed to Cleveland as part of a deal that will bring Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a first-round pick to Minnesota.
Here’s some of the best stuff we’ve tracked down.
Wiggins the loser of the trade?
Sports Illustrated’s Phil Taylor says Wiggins is the loser of the deal because he goes from playing with LeBron James to a team that “won’t make the playoffs” next season. Chris Mannix, however, thinks Wiggins and the Wolves could be very interesting this season.
“Minnesota’s a team that’s not going to be all that bad next year. They won’t be a disaster,” Mannix said. “I do think ultimately a trade with Philadelphia is going to materialize that sends Anthony Bennett to Philadelphia for Thaddeus Young, who is a more NBA-ready player and a better fit for that team in the short term.”
Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that Young for Bennett will happen. Young, a 6-foot-8 26-year-old power forward, averaged 17.9 points and six rebounds per game last season.
Wiggins the best wing prospect since Durant?
A USA Today writer says Wiggins is the best small forward prospect since Kevin Durant. He’s not saying Wiggins will become Durant, but that’s refreshing to hear.
Wiggins is the best wing prospect since Kevin Durant. He never would have had a chance to develop into his own star for the Cavs. Without James, Wiggins’ chance of being a bust increases. But so does his chance of being a star in his own right, a marketable one at that.
Love still won’t play for USA
Mannix, per sources, via CBS Sports, says Love still won’t play for Team USA at the upcoming Basketball World Cup. USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo recently said Love could technically still join the team if he was traded before competition begins Aug. 30.
No surprise, but even with an agreed upon deal to Cleveland, Kevin Love won't rejoin USA Basketball this summer, per sources.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) August 7, 2014
LeBron, Love and Cavs ready for 65 wins?
Nate Silver, the genius running the FiveThirtyEight.com, did some number crunching and came out with 65 wins for the Cavaliers next season. It’s based on a Cleveland starting lineup of LeBron, Love, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Verajao.
