Kevin Love Requests Trade to Cleveland Cavaliers: How Does This Affect the Golden State Warriors?

Minnesota Timberwolves

Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

If you’re a Wolves fan, you’re probably thinking of setting fire to your Love jersey because Love’s latest trade request doesn’t help Minnesota in the very least…unless, of course, you’re a huge fan of Andrew Wiggins. Despite initial reports saying Minnesota favored Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson over Cleveland’s Wiggins, the latest from ESPN’s Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst is that Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor now favors Wiggins to Thompson. The number one overall pick would likely have to be included in any deal Cleveland offers for Love. Imagine Ricky Rubio leading the break with Zach LaVine on one wing and Wiggins on the other — not a bad scenario for Minnesota.

What Love’s reported trade request does, however, is mow down the growing number of suitors engaged in the high-stakes bidding war for his services; in other words, all the leverage that the Wolves accumulated through the aforementioned bidding war is gone, and they are no longer in the position to demand whatever they want. So if the reports hold true and Love really does prefer seeing factories outside his window as opposed to the California sunshine he’s more familiar with, he’ll likely get what he’s wishing for before the start of this season.

The list of teams that reportedly were making a push for Love — which included the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks, the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics — have likely been forced out of the race.