In an article that was posted yesterday by NBA insider for CBS Sports, Ken Berger, details of the troubles between franchise player, Kevin Love, and the Minnesota Timberwolves were reported. In addition, and of most interest to Lakers fans, the thoughts of an anonymous NBA executive were released, intimating that Love’s desire is to play for the Purple and Gold.
“They should trade him,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “No one thinks he’s staying. Everyone knows he wants to go to the Lakers.”
The Lakers are desperately seeking their next star player that can top the marquee in Los Angeles and Love would definitely fit that bill. The Lakers will finally have flexibility with signing free agents immediately following this season as most of their roster is on expiring deals outside of Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Robert Sacre and possibly Nick Young who has a player option for next season. Depending on where the maximum team salary is set by the league next season, the Lakers could be working with around 25 million dollars to spend on free agents, more than enough to make Kevin Love a max offer.
If the Lakers are looking to sign Love, they’ll have to wait until after the conclusion of next season as Love is still under contract through 2016; however, he has the option of opting out of his last season on his contract and becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2015. This will require the Lakers to have discipline in this coming free agent market and not sign any big contracts that extend beyond next season if they still want to have enough cap space to offer Love a max offer.
So it looks like it is all starting to line up for the Lakers and Love to come together. All that is required from both sides is patience and discipline. Mutual interest is apparently already their, per Mr. Anonymous NBA Executive.
– Fern Rea
Twitter: @fullcourtfern and @raining3sdotcom
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