In January of 2012, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love inked a four-year, $62 million contract extension to remain in Minnesota. The deal did not include the Wolves one time franchise designation and gave Love a player option for free agency in July of 2015. At the time the belief was the Wolves would need that one time roster designation for incoming guard Ricky Rubio and that extending Love down the road would be the way to keep the Wolves’ budding core together. The problem for the Wolves is as much as the plan seemed to make some sense on the surface, in practice the Wolves now find themselves in a tough spot. The 19-21 Timberwolves have lost six of their last ten games and is as average of a basketball team as they come, despite Love having another solid season. Love is averaging better than 25 points per game, grabbing 13 rebounds per contest on 45.9 percent field goal shooting and a scorching 39.1 percent from three. Hard to say Love could do much more for his club and at times that’s boiling over into the locker room. The Wolves find themselves at a crossroads. The NBA trade landscape has changed dramatically and teams are often unwilling to trade for player that could walk away as a free agent and Love seems poised to do just that in 2015. Read more at http://www.basketballinsiders.com/is-it-time-for-minnesota-to-trade-kevin-love/#hxuwpiz6Kc58BLEk.99
