After the Chris Paul trade was vetoed by the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly made another move to acquire a big-name player in the form of Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The trade was proposed offering Pau Gasol straight up for the up-and-coming big man of the T’Wolves according to Peter Vescey of the New York Post, but the deal never came to fruition.
Despite the proposed deal falling through, the Lakers might be interested in trying again by offering Pau Gasol and the trade exception received in the Lamar Odom deal with the Dallas Mavericks. With the Minnesota Timberwolves almost certainly not being able to re-sign Kevin Love after this season, the T’Wolves might be forced to make a deal and getting rookie Ricky Rubio’s Spanish teammate Pau Gasol in return might be enough to convince them to make the blockbuster trade.
It would be hard to argue that this trade wouldn’t make the Los Angeles Lakers a much better all-around basketball team with a bright future ahead even after the Kobe Bryant era. With Kevin Love already having a soft spot for Los Angeles (former UCLA star) and wanting to play in a bigger market while contending for an NBA title on an annual basis, the versatile forward would probably welcome a trade and sign an extension with the Lakers.
As of right now, Kevin Love (23-years-old) is averaging some impressive numbers with 23.6 points, 14.7 rebounds per game (leads the NBA) and 40% from beyond the arc. Those are All-Star numbers and are definitely better than Pau Gasol’s at this point with the Spaniard (31-years-old) averaging 16.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
The Los Angeles Lakers are still most likely interested in a trade for Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic, but if that deal falls through or Andrew Bynum continues to play at a high level the better deal might be to go after Kevin Love and part ways with Pau Gasol. If this deal does happen to bring Kevin Love to L.A., it will be made soon as the T’Wolves can only offer Love a maximum contract extension until the deadline at 11 p.m. on Jan. 25.
It will be interesting to see if these Lakers trade rumors start to heat up in the coming weeks with Kevin Love being linked to Los Angeles.
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