By signing only a 4 year deal, Kevin Love will become a free agent the same summer that the Bulls will finally be done with the Carlos Boozer error.
Leave it to Timberwolves GM David Kahn and penny pinching owner Glen Taylor to somehow not fully commit to their franchise player. I get it, a 4 year $62 million extension for Kevin Love is a hell of a lot of money, but Minnesota isn’t exactly a destination city for NBA stars. And if your star player wants the full 5 year max extension, why not oblige and lock him up for the duration?
With Derrick Williams and Wesley Johnson, the Wolves have two quality swingmen moving forward. However, the franchise players are Love and rookie sensation Ricky Rubio. If you have the foresight and want to envision a championship contender in ‘Sota down the line, Love and Rubio will be the guys who will give the best small market team in basketball that opportunity.
But look at what Love is dealing with here. Taylor epitomizes a small market owner. He is petrified of locking himself into another max contract like that of Kevin Garnett’s $126 million cap killer back in the day. That being said, the landscape is different, and a 5 year $80 million extension for Love is nowhere close to Garnett’s massive deal. Taylor loves having “flexibility,” but what good is that if your franchise player is already planning on leaving your team?
As for Kahn, the 4 year extension for Love shortens his leash and the countdown to the summer of Love (2015) has already begun. Kahn has assembled a nice young team, and the perfect veteran coach (Rick Adelman) to mold the talent. But much like Cleveland and Toronto when LeBron and Bosh signed shorter contracts, the pressure’s on Kahn to prove to Love that ‘Sota is where he should finish his career. We know how the ticking time bomb worked for Danny Ferry and Bryan Colangelo. LeBron and Bosh had one foot out the door the day they signed their shorter extensions with their original teams. The same goes for Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony. You’d think those situations would show owners like Taylor that you have to lock up your best players for as long as you can.
If things don’t turn around in the next couple of years and the T-Wolves remain a walk through squad, Love will have to look elsewhere. That’s where the 4 year extension gives him the flexibility as much as it gives the Wolves.
It could be that Taylor wants to preserve his cap space for a Rubio extension, but the slick passing Spaniard won’t re-sign there if Love isn’t happy and committed to Taylor’s franchise. That’s why keeping Love happy was essential, and the Wolves might have outsmarted themselves.
That’s where the Bulls come in. When the summer of Love arrives, that will also be the summer that Carlos Boozer’s albatross mercifully comes off the books. Sure, the Bulls could use the amnesty clause on him long before then, but knowing Jerry Reinsdorf, it’s not likely.
And we’ve all heard Love say that Derrick Rose is the best player he’s ever played with. We’ve also heard that Rose & Love have talked about playing together at some point. July of 2015 would be perfect timing with the Bulls having cap space to sign Love outright. And who knows, maybe Love becomes frustrated with Taylor and Kahn in 2014 and the Bulls could swing a deal using Boozer’s expiring contract in a package. With Kahn in charge despite the moves he’s made, anything is possible up there.
I’m always looking ahead and trying to find D Rose that other star to run with. With Love’s ability to knock down 3′s, rebound with the best of them, play the pick and roll game & his outlet passing, he is an ideal compliment to the MVP. Yes, it’s a long way off, but when the $75 million power forward is being replaced in clutch time by Brian Scalabrine, it’s impossible to not think of Love and D Rose finally teaming up in a non USA basketball setting.
@Louie_Ruffolo8
