The Warriors want to acquire Kevin Love, and are fine with giving up a piece like David Lee to get him.
But what they don’t want to do -- at least right now -- is break up their high-scoring backcourt tandem of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the process.
That wrinkle has led to trade talks stalling on the Love front at the moment, but since there are some within the organization who wouldn’t mind parting with Thompson, the situation is one that may be revisited at some point in the future.
From Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com: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.
Giving up Thompson is the true sticking point here, because while including him and a first round pick in a trade might seem like a price too steep, the value there is diminished because Golden State would likely be picking fairly late in the first round if they were able to add Love to the roster.
The three-way trade idea involving the Lakers would be even better for the Timberwolves, but it still involves the Warriors losing Thompson, so no dice.
Remember, Minnesota isn’t exactly in a hurry to send Love packing, so it will continue to take its time in waiting for the right offer. We’re hearing more chatter because the NBA Draft is less than a week away, and those picks are potentially less valuable once they’ve been turned into actual players selected.
The Timberwolves can’t (and shouldn’t) trade Love simply for future draft picks; the franchise needs an immediately ready asset in return to sell to its fan base, and someone like Thompson -- while being nowhere near Love’s level of production -- would at least help ease the transition.
But the Warriors don’t appear to be willing to include him in any deal for Love -- at least not yet.
