The NBA Draft is over. The free agent frenzy is over. Heck, even the Summer League is almost over. And while the real exciting parts of the NBA off-season are over, there is still one big piece left to the off-season What is going to happen with Kevin Love? Even since Love declared he would not resign with the Timberwolves and was seeking a trade there have been a plethora of rumors on his potential landing spots. It seems the team that has been most consistently interested in acquiring the big man is the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors do have the assets to make the Timberwolves a very convincing offer. However, it seems any potential deal gets hung up on whether or not Klay Thompson would be included in the offer. Understandably, the Warriors are unwilling to trade Thompson and break up the “Splash Brothers”.
Since being selected 11th overall in the 2011 Draft, Thompson has emerged into one of the best three point shooters in the league. In addition to his sweet shooting stroke, Thompson has excellent size for a shooting guard(6'7”) and is a greatly improving defender. Most importantly however; Thompson and Stephen Curry have emerged as one of the best shooting duos of all time and are a large reason for the Warriors success. Coming off a season that saw him average 18 points per game while shooting 41 percent from behind the arc, it's easy to see why Minnesota would want to target the 24 year old. The question the Warriors must answer is the addition of Kevin Love worth the loss of Klay Thompson.
To put it simply, Kevin Love is one of the best big men in the NBA. Through his six year career Love holds averages of 19 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists per game. Not only is he one of the best rebounders in the NBA, Love is the ideal stretch four as he possesses lethal three point range. Love does have some faults though. He is a below average defender and is by no means a rim protector as he has never averaged more than one block a game. He also as an extensive list of injuries and has never been able to play a complete season. Despite his defensive shortcoming and injury history, Love would be an immediate upgrade over David Lee and give the Warriors another dynamic scoring weapon.
Comparatively speaking, Love is a much better player than Thompson. Love is a proven superstar ad while Klay is an exceptional talent, he may never be more than a volume scorer. What Thompson does provide is team chemistry and perimeter scoring. Even though Love is a great three point shooter, he is no where near the weapon Thompson is. Plus, the camaraderie that Curry and Thompson share could be more impactful than it appears. One major deciding factory may be Thompson's upcoming free agency. He is set to earn himself a large paycheck as a restricted free agent next summer. If the Warriors are apprehensive of dishing out such a large contract to him they might be motivated to move him before hand.
The real deciding factor of whether the Warriors are willing to trade Thompson relies heavily on the other players on their roster. If the Warriors are confident in Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, and Nemanja Nedovic's ability to man the two position, they could be very inclined to do so. At the end of the day, the NBA has become a star driven league, and while the Spurs have certainly challenged the idea of superstars joining together, it is certainly the easiest way to compete immediately. And while the idea of Kevin Love roaming the post on defense might not be appealing to Warrior fans, the partnership with Andrew Bogut would be very beneficial to Love. The pairing of Love and Bogut would certainly have it's risks, as both are very injury prone. However, if the Warriors truly want to compete immediately, the loss of Klay Thompson would not sting with the addition of Kevin Love. And with the win now mentality the Warriors seem to possess, the sacrifice of Thompson is well worth the addition of Love.